GOVERNMENT has said residents in urban areas experiencing flooding will only be relocated once alternative and safe places have been identified with the Second Republic prioritising increased disaster risk management including early warning systems and contingency planning to enhance the country’s preparedness.
The National Disaster Centre is also open 24 hours a day to coordinate rescue operations.
Every year, urban dwellers, especially in new settlements across the country experience the wrath of flash floods which destroy their property and valuables.
Several flash floods occurring in most urban areas are due to failure by local authorities to maintain their storm drainage systems.
Silt, garbage and other obstructions are reducing the carrying capacity of the drainage system and causing flash floods.
Residents are also to blame as they contribute to clogging drainage systems through illegal dumping of garbage.
The Meteorological Services Department in conjunction with the Department of Civil Protection, in a statement on Thursday, said localised heavy rains, in excess of 50mm, and flash flooding in areas with saturated soils, wetlands, and impervious grounds and along river basins, were expected.
The Government has urged Zimbabweans to be on high alert and take all the necessary measures to avoid falling victim to flooding.
In an interview on the sidelines of the local authorities’ 2023 budget approval process in Gweru yesterday, Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said the Government is not going to relocate residents from wetlands until there is alternative accommodation.
“We have people who were allocated stands illegally in wetlands. They need to be moved out of those areas, but the Government is saying there is no need to relocate them without first getting alternative places for them,” he said.
“So residents in urban areas experiencing flooding will only be relocated once alternative and safe places have been identified.”
Minister Moyo said there is a need to clear storm drains to curb flooding.
“Urban councils should strengthen the clearance of storm water drain systems. If there is no storm water drain system, the water will flood and end up encroaching onto properties in commercial, industrial and residential areas,” he said.
Minister Moyo said Gweru is one of the hard-hit urban areas in terms of flooding last year.
“As we saw last time, some of the areas in Gweru were affected by flooding and we visited them. We could see that houses were flooded because there were no storm water drain systems in place,” he said.
“That is why we are urging the private developers and local authorities to address this issue.”
Minister Moyo said the Government put a committee chaired by the Acting President Dr Chiwenga to assist people affected by flooding last year.
“It is in this committee where we had the emergency committee working through the Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution who were tasked with supervising the local authorities,” he said.
Minister Moyo said it was observed that there was some form of malice in local authorities when it came to houses constructed on wetlands and the non-availability of storm water drains.
“In Gweru, for instance, we saw that there are new places where houses have been constructed. Even when the areas were good, they lacked storm water drains which contributed to the flooding of houses,” he said.
Minister Moyo said the Government is constructing suitable accommodation for people in urban areas. – The Chronicle
