The Sunday Mail
Cletus Mushanawani in Chimanimani
WITH the Cyclone Idai-induced heavy rains and strong winds swirling around him, Godfrey Munyakare, popularly known as Chidhakwa in the Skyline area, thought the safest place was his quarters in the undulating terrain of Chimanimani.
Having forced to retire to bed early because of the heavy downpour, it never crossed his mind that in less than an hour, he would be counting losses.
Again, he never thought the siting of his homestead – on the Skyline slope – was a danger to his family and property.
As they took shelter in their respective bedrooms that particular Friday night, the wind sounded absolutely terrible roaring like a monster in their yard.
“This is where my homestead used to be,” says Mr Munyakare as he points to a red mound of soil.
“Apart from the soil, there is nothing to show that a few days ago there was a three-bedroomed house, a grass thatched kitchen hut and a fowl run.
“It was around 8.30pm when we heard a deafening noise outside. Within seconds, my house had been ripped apart,” Mr Munyakare continues to narrate his ordeal.
“I was only wearing a pair of shorts. The first thing that came to mind was that all my children had been swept away.
“In my semi-naked state, I jumped over the mudslide which was continuously swelling.
“My heart skipped a bit when I could not locate my children who were squeezing in a corner.
“I quickly grabbed them and we rushed out to our kitchen hut. My wife also followed there. We thought our kitchen hut had saved us.”
Mr Munyakare said their relief was short-lived as the kitchen hut could not stand the mudslide.
“We sought refuge at our neighbour, Mr George Chovha’s place. The two families had to cram in his small kitchen hut. We had a sleepless night. However, Mr Chovha lost his nephew after being trapped under the rubble of a falling hut. His body is still to be recovered,” he said.
Munyakare said when they checked on their neighbours at dawn, they discovered that they were in the same predicament as everyone was counting his or her losses.
“We were left with nothing and we are surviving on hand-outs. I never realised that death can visit as fast as that.
“Two of my neighbours could not make it and were buried yesterday (Wednesday).
“Every time I look at my children, tears flood my eyes because I could have lost them to the mudslide. This horror will continue haunting them.
“Every day, we are burying a relative or friend. Our tears have literally dried as these burials have become a daily occurrence.
“I am now open for resettlement elsewhere because I have seen we were settled in a danger prone area.
Another survivor, Mrs Jane Vhurande, a mother of nine from Tanganda area of Chipinge, said her homestead had been reduced into rubbles.
“We first heard a loud noise before the rains commenced. It pounded heavily for more than three hours,” she said.
“The first structure to give in was the bedroom. We watched miserably as all other structures were being razed down one after the other.
“I have nowhere to start from.
“Cyclone Eline was not as devastating as this one. This cyclone inflicted a lot of damage, both to humans and infrastructure,” she said.
A vendor at Skyline, Sibongile Mapatire, said she had lost her source of income as all her wares were swept away by the rains.
“There was a tremor before the rains. We rushed to this place which is on high ground. I am a mother of three boys, the eldest is aged four,” she said.
“We slept in the open with my four boys. Friday was the longest night as I struggled to keep my three children together. They were whimpering throughout the night.
“At one time I resigned to fate, but God managed to save us. We are happy that we are alive, but we lost everything. We are surviving on hand-outs from well-wishers,” she said.
Despite starring hunger in the face, the homeless Mapatire family is now grappling with the vagaries of weather as temperatures usually drop to low levels especially at night.
“Every day, as dusk approaches, I feel for my children. Night brings with it a lot of challenges and I have to find a place to keep my children warm,” she said. “With no blankets to cover them, it is surely a living hell for my boys.
“I am a vendor, but it seems I will be unable to replace my wares, which were washed away by the water.
Mr Thembinkosi Ndlovu, said life at Tanganda Business Halt Business Centre, was no longer the same as structures were badly damaged.
“I do not know how I survived. The rains were just too much. We spent two sleepless nights on Thursday and Friday,” he said.
“The winds compounded our situation as we could not go outside.
“The roaring Tanganda River sent shivers down our spines as we feared that it would burst its banks and flood our homes.
“Every morning, we would wake up to check if our neighbours were still alive. “If you look at the size and amount of debris in Tanganda River, then you will realise that we are lucky to be alive. Logs and boulders were left strewn all over the business centre and we don’t know their source.
“You can imagine the damage caused by a gum log with a diameter of almost a metre as it smashes against a house.”
The Cyclone has since been declared a national disaster with President Emmerson Mnangagwa also proclaiming yesterday and today as days of national mourning in honour of the victims.
According to the latest statistics from the Civil Protection Unit, about 154 people have so far been confirmed dead while 187 remain unaccounted for.
