FLASH floods yesterday hit parts of Bulawayo resulting in several houses and some roads being waterlogged following a heavy downpour that pounded the entire city for hours.
The floods hit parts of Pumula suburbs, Nketa, Emganwini,
Nkulumane and Cowdray Park among other areas, rendering some bridges and major
roads leading to the city centre inaccessible.
In the city centre, the water covered the streets, totally
obscuring some roads and making it virtually impossible for both pedestrians
and motorists to navigate through.
The city’s clogged storm drainage system did not help
matters as the torrential rain immediately formed rivulets.
Water destroyed household property at some homes and the
Fire Brigade said it was overwhelmed by distress calls from residents. Cowdray
Park residents, particularly those with houses situated in swampy areas were among
the worst affected.
A Chronicle news crew visited selected suburbs in the city
and observed that just-below-knee-level ponds had formed in some yards. The
water flowed freely through the houses, damaging furniture and electrical
gadgets. Some children could be seen playing happily in a pool of water
oblivious of the dangers of contracting waterborne diseases.
Some residents scampered to remove their household property
from their houses as water rushed through. They blamed Bulawayo City Council
for failing to clear the storm water drainage system, leading to water flowing
into their homes.
“Usually whenever it rains, water flows into our homes
because of the poor drainage system. Council should upgrade the stormwater
drainage system to address perennial flooding,” said Mrs Sinikiwe Ndlovu of
Cowdray Park.
Another resident, Mr Michael Sibanda of Nketa 6 said: “I
had just woken up when water started seeping through the cracked walls of my
room and in no time the entire house was flooding. It is quite worrisome that
the people around this suburb continue to be victims of flash floods every
rainy season.”
Ms Thandiwe Dube of Nkulumane said when it started raining,
rainwater, mixed with sewage flowed into her yard. She, however, managed to
block the smelly mass from flowing into her house.
Ms Siqondile Ndlovu also from Nkulumane said it took them
an hour to scoop water out of her house. Some of her household property, which
included electrical gadgets, was soaked in water and damaged.
Ms Prudence Ndlovu of Cowdray Park said she delayed going
to work due to flooding. “It was raining in the morning and difficult for me to
walk to the nearest bus stop and I had to delay going to work. The poor road
network in Cowdray Park also worsened the situation because there is no
transport,” she said.
Most roads in the western suburbs visited by the news crew
were extensively damaged by the rains and were impassable. Motorists, cyclists
and pedestrians had a torrid time crossing Phekiwe River in Nkulumane as it was
flooded.
“I have been here for the past two hours because it is
actually risky to cross such a flooded river. I was supposed to be at work, but
had to phone my bosses telling them about the situation,” said Mr George
Sithole, a motorist from Nkulumane.
Residents said long queues of cars formed yesterday morning
when the rains started. Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BUPRA)
coordinator, Mr Emmanuel Ndlovu, said council should be held responsible for
any damage emanating from the flash floods.
“Planning on the part of council did not have a long-term
perspective and then a swell in the population has created a significant demand
on existing infrastructure, which is why it can’t cope anymore,” said Mr
Ndlovu.
He said residents should also avoid littering as this
causes blockage of the city’s drainage system. “Poor disposal of solid waste
such as plastic, coupled by poor drainage has resulted in major clogging in the
city especially during the rainy season.
“These urban floods are entirely due to human error and
poor planning,” said Mr Ndlovu. Bulawayo chief fire officer, Mr Linos Phiri
said his team attended to numerous flash flood calls yesterday morning.
“We were so overwhelmed by the calls and today (yesterday)
we were unable to attend to some cases of flooding. We managed to attend to
most of them in Emganwini and Nketa,” said Mr Phiri.
He said the major cause for flash floods was failure to
create weep holes after erecting precast walls, thus interfering with the flow
of water.
Mr Phiri said his team also faced resistance from some
residents who did not want holes to be drilled into the precast walls.
Environmental Management Agency (EMA)’s manager responsible
for environment and education Ms Amkela Sidange yesterday said when it rains
litter in the environment is washed into the storm drain system, which ends up
clogged resulting in flash floods.
“Although when it comes to storm drains it might be an
issue of engineering, but we also have to consider things such as solid waste
clogging the storm drain resulting in flash floods,” she said. Chronicle
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