Vic Falls Residents Left Counting Losses After Flash Floods Hit Again

In Vic Falls residents live in constant fear of being hit by flash floods each time it rains.

BY BOKANI MUDIMBA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | FEB 3, 2022

Victoria Falls residents are living in constant fear as flash floods are becoming more frequent in the country’s prime resort city owing to poor drainage systems.

VICTORIA FALLS (The Citizen Bulletin) — Dozens of Victoria Falls residents faced losses when their electrical gadgets and other household properties were soaked in water after flash floods hit the city early January.

Some residents helplessly watched their durawalls collapse as water rose to knee level inside their homes and yards.

Nomqhele Moyo is one of the residents whose property was damaged.

“We are in constant fear because each time it rains water accumulates. When the flash floods hit the city early this month (January) we were literally living in water which was knee high in the yard and much of our property was soaked,” Moyo says.

Her lounge suite, beds, electrical gadgets and clothes were damaged.

Some vehicles developed electrical faults after spending three days partly submerged in water, according to residents.

Last year, Victoria Falls was also hit by flash floods which left some residents counting their losses.

The recent floods mostly affected high density and medium density areas, while the low density and central business district where hotels and tour operators are located were spared.

Roads became impassable, some were washed off while others were severely damaged due to flooding induced erosion.

The flash floods have been blamed on the resort town’s poor drainage and lack of adequate storm water drains.

There are no storm water drains in the new Mkhosana high density and Aerodrome medium density suburbs, which were the hardest hit.

Sections of the oldest Chinotimba suburb were also affected after the suburb’s storm drains were overwhelmed by massive runoff.

Residents are also partly to blame for littering the environment resulting in garbage blocking the few available storm water drains resulting in water diverting into houses.

However, residents believe that disasters can be averted if the local authority constructs storm water drains.

Street storm water drain...The Council has mooted plans to construct proper water drains. Image by Duncaville

“People lost property and foodstuffs which puts their livelihoods in a difficult position considering the economic hardships they are already facing,” Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association Chair Kelvin Moyo says.

“We get worried because it’s becoming recurrent. The problem is known and very clear as we have raised it several times at various fora. There is lack of a proper drainage system and the council should prioritise making storm water drains around the city and suburbs.”

Players in the tourism sector say, while their industry was spared, this has severely affected business.

“As long as the floods remain flash floods there will be no direct impact on tourism although activities such as helicopter flights, game drives, white water rafting and tour of the falls cannot be done during the period of the floods which has a bearing on day to day business,” tourism executive Clement Mukwasin warns.

Victoria Falls City Council officials are now having sleepless nights, with mayor councilor Somvelo Dhlamini saying a permanent solution, including a complete overhaul of the drainage system is needed.

“The solution that will mitigate this challenge is construction of proper storm water drains and as council we are working with our engineers to come up with areas that can be prioritised in the construction of storm water drains.”
Somvelo Dhlamini, Victoria Falls mayor

“Work will commence as soon as funds are made available by either council or government and other partners,” he adds, although not mentioning how much is needed for the rehabilitation of the drainage system.

Environment and disaster management are listed in the local authority's five year strategic plan.

Civil Protection Committee National Director Nathan Nkomo says local authorities will be able to use their by-laws in disaster risk management once the Disaster Risk Management Bill becomes law.

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“We always talk of contingency plans to mitigate disasters, and so far we are devolving functions for local authorities to mimic what the central government does in terms of managing disasters because there is no way the government can manage everything,” Nkomo says.

“Local authorities should be more responsible, especially in the area of spatial planning.”

The country is in the process of implementing the United Nations Sendai Framework for disaster reduction through local authorities.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 aims to achieve the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries over the next 15 years.

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