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THE rainy season is upon us and thunderstorms accompanied by strong winds and lightning have been lashing different parts of the country with attendant destruction of property and loss of lives. With sad memories of the destruction left by Cyclone Idai which slammed the Eastern part of Zimbabwe, leaving in its wake more than 200 people dead, 2 250 houses destroyed and 4 000 people displaced, the need to properly prepare for the rainy season cannot be overemphasised. 

Heavy rains started hitting most parts of Zimbabwe last week with more forecast this coming week. In Matabeleland, a seven-year-old boy died while his mother and sibling were injured after they were struck by objects during a rain storm at Komba Primary School in Lupane. The storm, which lasted about seven minutes last Sunday afternoon, destroyed 21 homesteads in Gudubu Village, information gathered by the District Civil Protection Unit, which visited the school, shows.  

At the school, seven classroom blocks and three teachers’ cottages had their roofs blown off while windowpanes were shattered. The perimeter fence and blocks of toilets were also destroyed after huge trees fell on them. The deceased boy was identified as Mbekezeli Nleya who was doing Grade One at the school. He was allegedly struck by an object as he and his mother Ms Portia Mafu, an Early Childhood Development teacher and Pertunia Dube a Form 2 pupil at the nearby Vulindlela Secondary, fled from the house they were in after its roof was blown away. In Matabeleland South, Sengezane Primary School in Gwanda had one of its classroom blocks damaged by rains accompanied by strong winds last Monday. 

In Bulawayo, a 37-year-old woman was struck and killed by lightning in Cowdray Park suburb, the third person reported to have died in the suburb due to a lightning strike since January this year. The incident occurred last Sunday at around 2PM near Caravan Police Base. 

Elsewhere, one person was killed while several others were injured by thunderstorms that hit different parts of the country at the weekend. Houses, Government buildings, schools and roads were damaged in the past week. 

In Hwange, in the Mashala area, about 20 homesteads were damaged. In Beitbridge last Thursday, strong winds, which lasted for seven minutes, damaged roofs at shops, a clinic, teachers’ cottages, churches and nine homesteads in the Shashe area. In Zezani, in Ward 10, authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage on Sunday. Two people were injured in the Shashe area in Ward 8, with one senior citizen (64) breaking his leg while attempting to flee a house whose walls were falling in. An 11-year old girl sustained a deep cut below her right knee when she fell on broken glass as she sought to avoid a falling roof at their family house. 

At Shashe Business Centre, five shops with stock worth over $250 000, had their roofs blown off. Additionally, the Maramani community, including the Shashe area, has lost electricity supplies after pylons were uprooted. The damage to Shashe Clinic, which has a catchment of 4 000 people, has left people having to travel for 50 kilometres to either Swereki or Nottingham to access health facilities. Authorities at Shashe Secondary School have temporarily suspended classes for 231 pupils until the damage is repaired. 

Thunderstorms are often accompanied by strong winds, a result of rotating winds from the cloud to the earth, especially at the beginning of the season. Government has since assured the nation that it is ready to assist those affected by rains. 

The Minister of Local Government and Public Works, July Moyo, on Sunday said Government was responding to challenges caused by the rains. “We dispatched some teams countrywide to monitor the damage that might be caused,” he said. “We have some officers who are on high alert at district and provincial level to assist those who have been affected. 

“Those affected should immediately report any damage caused by heavy rains and strong winds to get assistance.” Minister Moyo said the Ministry was in the process of conducting awareness campaigns countrywide to educate people on dangers caused by weather patterns. 

We also urge people to stay prepared for any eventualities this rainy season. They should heed warnings by the CPU who have been conducting disaster risk reduction campaigns in various areas to prepare communities for the rainy season and disasters which come with it. 

If possible, people should create WhatsApp platforms which will have community leaders, traditional leaders, heads of schools, clinic staff, business people and other influential people so that reports of disasters from village level would be recorded as early as possible in order to ensure quick responses. 

CPUs at different levels should also be on alert for any reports of disasters and be prepared to assist at the earliest possible time.