By Staff writer
THE government says it has deployed a team led by the Midlands provincial roads engineer to assess the extent of damage caused by the rains in Gokwe South on Thursday.
This follows incessant rains that have been pounding the province which has seen Kwekwe district receiving 78 millilitres while Gokwe South recorded a total of 116 millilitres.
Addressing the media in Gweru on Friday, minister of state for provincial affairs and devolution in the Midlands province, Owen Ncube gave an update on the situation in the province.
“A major bridge on Sesame river that links Gokwe South and Gokwe North districts was damaged resulting in one of its approaches collapsing and swept away,” Ncube said.
“Resultantly there is no access road from Gokwe South to Gokwe North. Thus motorists are therefore forced to use the Kadoma access road which is more than 200km.”
Ncube added that a team led by the provincial roads engineer was on the ground making assessments of the damage.
“The provincial civil protection committee has deployed the provincial roads engineer and his team to establish the extent of the damage and advise on appropriate action to restore normalcy,” he added.
Low lying areas like Gokwe usually experience flash flooding during the rainy season. On Thursday, a male adult and three children were marooned at an island on Sesame river but fortunately managed to move to safety after the water subsided.
A drilling rig that was parked at Mtange bridge in Gokwe was swept away by the water, there were however, no fatalities as there was no one in the truck.
Ncube also highlighted that infrastructure has been destroyed since the onset of the rains including schools,clinics and huts. He noted that the government was in the process of providing tents and other supplies to the affected.
