Heavy rains received last night wreaked havoc in Bulawayo with reports of some houses flooding, while others collapsed.
This comes after the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) issued a warning of flash floods due to torrential rainfall to be experienced in the country in the next few days.
A section of a two-roomed house in Old Pumula collapsed while the owner Andile Ncube was inside the house at around 8 pm on Thursday evening as heavy rains pounded the city.
He escaped unhurt.
Narrating his ordeal to a CITE news crew, Ncube who is an artisanal miner said every time it rained he always feared for the worst as the house was now old having been constructed before independence.
Now he has the arduous task to rebuild his house, an inheritance from his late parents.
“I am just an artisanal miner and I am not making a lot of money. I have been meaning to renovate the house but now it has been destroyed by the rains,” said Ncube.
He appealed for assistance with building materials so he can rebuild the house.
“I don’t have any money, if people could assist me with 200 bricks and three bags of cement, I will ask my neighbours to help me rebuild,” he appealed.
Pumula Member of Parliament, Sichelesile Mahlangu appealed to the government to rehabilitate old houses in most of the old suburbs around the country.
“As an MP for Pumula constituency, I am appealing to the government to take note of these structures because most people who are staying here are old people who are pensioners and cannot even afford to rebuild these houses using the modern-day bricks,” said Mahlangu.
“We fear that one of these houses might collapse when people are sleeping inside.”
She also appealed the Bulawayo City Council to take note of the old houses, “maybe build new houses for people because I foresee danger where we might lose lives.”
Mahlangu said the local leadership is going to have a meeting and see how best they can help the family.
