Zimbabwe floods leave hundreds dead and thousands homeless

Saviour Kasukuwere, Zimbabwe’s minister of local government, declared a national emergency on Thursday, announcing that since December, 246 people had been killed, another 146 injured and over 2,000 people left homeless by flooding from the heavy rains that have inundated the country over the past few weeks, reports Aljazeera.

After enduring a crippling drought, the rains and flooding swept through villages, destroying crops, roads, and livestock in the southern part of the country. Flooding left thousands of people marooned, with no water or food, necessitating the use of the air force to evacuate them to safety, reports the BBC.

Zimbabwe is now asking for international support in the amount of $100 million to help those affected by the flooding. “There is an inadequate supply of tents, foodstuffs, and drugs for the affected people. There is a need for blankets and clothing for the affected families and they are at risk of contracting pneumonia and acute respiratory infections,” Kasukuwere said.

Lake Kariba on the Zambezi River border between Zimbabwe and Zambia used to be dotted with hundreds of commercial fishing rigs but now drought has shrunk the water level to a record low

Jekesai Njikizana, AFP/File

A cash-strapped government
Over 90 percent of Zimbabwe’s national budget goes to salaries, leaving little money to work with for infrastructure or anything else. The floods have washed out roads and bridges, including five bridges on major highways. More than four million people are estimated to be in need of food aid because of crop failures last year during the drought.

The story gets worse, with 74 schools damaged by the flooding, and at least 70 dams that failed. About 85 percent of the rest of the country’s dams are full, and more rains will create an added risk of them overflowing or bursting.

And CTV News Canada is reporting that with the country’s doctors being on strike since February 5 over non-payment of salaries, nurses went on strike last week over not receiving year-end bonus payments, leaving the government to send in police and army doctors to take care of patients.

Critics point to Mugabe’s controversial land reforms as being the primary cause of the country’s recent problems. Added to this is the unpaid loans taken out with foreign lenders. No one is interested in getting stung again by lending the country more money it probably won’t pay back.