JUST IN: Three Chegutu dams burst walls
AT LEAST five goats were swept away and an unknown number of hectares of crops were destroyed after three dams near Pickstone Mine in Chegutu burst their walls on Wednesday.
The dams, Farnam, Masterpice and Maradhadi provide drinking water to more than 200 households in Chegutu district’s Wards 24 and 25.
The dams also support farming activities to A1 and A2 farmers from Blackhill, Laforty, Farnam among other farms and villages.
Masterpiece Dam after it burst its walls
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA)’s corporate communications and marketing manager, Mrs Marjorie Munyonga could not be reached for comment.
Byo residents petition over unfinished dam
BY SILAS NKALA
BULAWAYO residents have petitioned the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) over water shortages, demanding to know when the Gwayi-Shangani Dam would be completed in order to address the perennial water problems in the city.
A total of 83 residents affiliated to Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) and the Water Action Group in Bulawayo, on Monday, wrote individual petitions to Zinwa raising issues pertaining to water rights.
The Water Action Group is currently engaged in a social media protest over water shortages, which started on January 25, and is scheduled to end on March 22.
Zinwa engineers assess Iron Duke damage
Mashonaland Central Bureau
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) has sent engineers to Mazowe to assess Kent 1 and Kent 2 dams at Iron Duke, whose walls collapsed on Sunday, causing downstream flooding of Mazowe River, leaving one person dead and another missing.
Zinwa corporate communications and marketing manager Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said the engineers will assess the likely cause of the breach.
She said flooding from the breached dams also damaged equipment, including Zinwa’s raw water abstraction equipment at Glendale Water Supply, disrupting water supply to the town.
Information gathered from the assessment will also be used to help Zinwa avert similar incidents in future.
Binga disconnects water to defaulters
BINGA Rural District Council yesterday began disconnecting water supplies to defaulters.
Last week, residents accused the council of failing to consistently supply water to consumers, and appealed to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) to take over the responsibility of supplying water in the town.
This was after residents had gone for four months without water when Zinwa had disconnected the water supplies to council on September 23 last year over a $1,5 million debt.
The water supplies were then restored on January 7.
Residents association chairperson Richard Muleya on Friday told Southern Eye that Binga RDC had already begun supplying water to residents.
Zimbabwe: Tropical Cyclone Eloise Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA), DREF n°: MDRZW015
Format
Description of the disaster
Tropical cyclone Eloise entered Zimbabwe on 23 January at about 20:00 hrs with wind speeds of 160 kilometres per hour (kph) (99 miles per hour). It brought heavy rains in Masvingo, Manicaland and Matebeleland Provinces which covers the southern part of Zimbabwe.
According to the Government’s Meteorological Services Department (MSD), these heavy rains have caused flooding, mudslides, and destruction of infrastructure in Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Central, Matabeleland South and Masvingo provinces since 23 January. In Manicaland, at least three people have reportedly died in Chipinge District, after they were swept away by floodwater that destroyed about 15 houses in Gumiro Village.