Problem Masau

Poor environmental management in Zimbabwe’s urban and rural areas has been cited as the major cause of floods that have already claimed this past rain season.

Eleven people have died and 800 families affected by flash floods throughout the country this rain season.

Property worth millions of dollars were also destroyed as the peak of the rain season in December.

According to the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, more than 800 people were in dire need of humanitarian assistance with some marooned in trees January after incessant rains pounced in the country.

Investigations by showed that with proper planning, good agricultural practices and a well-planned drainage system the torrential floods that gripped the whole country could at least have had at minimal damage.

“Badze River used to be deep but people continue to cultivate on its banks causing siltation. Now the river is filled with sand and once it rains it causes floods. People who live near the river are the worst affected,” said Ambuya Enekia Kwenda, who live near the river in Hurungwe.

Poor environment management has also caused incessant droughts as the river dry up in winter forcing livestock and people to starve.

A study by Action Aid shows that many people in urban areas are also affected by floods that can be avoided.
“Localised flooding occurs many times a year in slum areas because there are few drains, most of the ground is highly compacted and pathways between dwellings become streams after heavy rain. Such drains and culverts are often blocked by waste and debris.

Small streams in urban areas rise quickly after heavy rain, but often pass through small culverts under roads.
Although adequate when designed, changes in the urban area and in storm intensity now produce higher flows that exceed capacity. Channels may also have so much debris in them that they are effectively smaller than they were two decades ago.

Mutare residents have also been hard hit by the floods which they blame on local authority of negligence and incompetence following drainage-induced flash floods that claimed one life and left a trail of destruction in Chikanga suburb recently.

A seven-year-old boy was swept away and drowned in the floods while six families were left homeless after their houses were flooded.

Poor and blocked drainage system is causing artificial floods and pools of water in Harare’s streets, exposing residents to waterborne diseases and road accidents.

They said poor drainage system damaged vehicles and gave rise to congestion and accidents along the city’s roads as motorists try to avoid bad patches.

Harare Residents’ Trust director, Precious Shumba said the trust had communicated its concerns and recommendation to the city authorities, but the response has not been positive.

“If the truth be told as a trust we do not expect any major changes to the drainage problem as the council always allocated little resources towards road rehabilitation,” he said.

Major rivers flowing through urban areas are affected by land use changes and engineering works upstream.
Environmental Expert Henry Madhiri said some building activities in major cities and town were also causing artificial floods.

“Dams can trap sediment, causing rivers to erode their banks downstream. Dam operation may lead to high flows when stored water is released suddenly. Often, urban growth has expanded over some of the floodplain, making parts of the city below flood level and reducing the area into which floods can naturally overflow. Levees have been raised artificially, but with the risk that they may be breached and cause devastating urban flooding.

“When the rain started coming, the water from the drainages met with high tides and this increased the level of water into our house,” he said.

According to ActionAid by 2030, the majority of Africa’s population will live in urban areas.

“Unfortunately, however, global warming is also bringing chronic flooding to the cities, which can be just as disastrous for poor urbanites as droughts are for farmers.

“Urban floods spread disease, interrupt schooling, and destroy houses, assets and income.In first-hand interviews with slum dwellers in six African cities, one of the major problems ActionAid uncovered is that there are few, if any, collective mechanisms either for reducing flood risks, or for managing floods once they do happen. Instead, poor people are left to fend for themselves with whatever individual coping strategies they can muster.

“In lowland and coastal cities, wet season flooding may affect some areas for two or more months, because rain and river water combine to raise the levels of water in swamps that would have naturally been inundated at certain times of the year. Dumping of waste beneath dwellings in these areas tends to help raise levels further,” reads the report.

Urban council have also been blamed for dishing out stands in wetlands and low lying areas putting people’s lives at risk.