Flood leaves 3 000 homeless
2008-01-01 20:07
Lusaka - More than 3 000 villagers in southern Zambia have been left homeless after their homes were flooded following heavy rains, an official said on Tuesday.
Hundreds of houses have been submerged or collapsed after the nearby Magoye river burst its banks and swept through residential areas in Mazabuka, about 150 kilometres from the capital Lusaka, district commissioner Misheck Chiinda said.
He said the government disaster management team was trying to provide temporary shelter for the affected families.
A southern tourist resort town of Siavonga has been cut off after the only bridge linking the town to other parts of the country was washed away by heavy rains leaving several dozen holidaymakers stranded.
Erasmus Chilundika, a director of the Roads Development Agency, said more than 250 vehicles had been stranded by the bridge being washed away.
Zambia has been experiencing heavy rainfall in recent weeks that has destroyed infrastructures in rural areas and caused flooding in most parts of the country.
Neighbouring Zimbabwe has also been affected by heavy flooding with around 600 people reportedly left homeless in a north-eastern region of the country last month.