Stranded villagers rescued along Limpopo

The Beit Bridge Civil Protection Unit rescued at least 34 villagers, who had been stranded for several days along the Limpopo River at Tshikwalakwala village outside the border town, last week.

The rescue mission, which lasted for 30 minutes, was conducted with the assistance of a helicopter from the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ). The victims were airlifted from the Mapho area to safety at the Tshikwalakwala Clinic. The clinic was set up as a temporary shelter for flood victims. The villagers were left stranded when their huts were destroyed by the torrential rains which have been pounding the district during the past weeks.

The rescue team was kept busy since Monday when it rescued five people who were stranded across the Bubi River after a bridge was swept away by the floods in Tshikwalakwala. AFZ dispatched a helicopter that rescued the stranded villagers after the civil protection unit had raised the alarm.

Beit Bridge district received 139mm of rain between Saturday and Sunday last week, resulting in the Limpopo River's flooding.  A bridge at Tshikwalakwala, linking Beit Bridge and the neighboring Chiredzi district via the Bubi River, was also swept away last week.

Beit Bridge Civil Protection Unit chairperson Mr Simon Muleya said nine people had died due to flooding in the area. The CPU had distributed 130 tents, mosquito nets, kitchen utensils and several blankets for the victims from the International Organisation for Migration and the Red Cross Zimbabwe. The district also received a truck from their national office to transport supplies to all the affected areas.

Muleya said the victims received food hampers, 480 bars of soap, 990 fleece blankets and 1 000 buckets among other non-food stuffs. He said the authorities were mobilising resources to build two-roomed houses for the victims. A local senator, Mrs Tambudzani Mohadi, also donated food hampers and clothing to the floods victims at Tshikwalakwala and Tshitulipasi.

The heavy rains have also left a trail of destruction in the district where most roads were left impassable. AFZ director of operations Capt Alphious Gwata said that they would remain on alert. “In the face of warnings from the Meteorological Services Department that rains will continue, AFZ will remain ready to dispatch personnel and equipment to save the lives of those threatened by floods,” he said.

Ninety-six people have drowned while 33 were struck by lightning across the country since the beginning of the rainy season.

The heavy rains also left several families homeless. At the Beit Bridge border, the Zimbabwean and South African authorities were forced to stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic after the bridge at the border post was flooded last Monday.

News - Date: 30 January 2013

Mashudu Netsianda

Mashudu Netsianda is our correspondent in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe. He joined us in 2006, writing both local and international stories. He had worked for several Zimbabwean publications, as well as the Times of Swaziland. Mashudu received his training at the School of Mass Communication in Harare.

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