BY STEPHEN CHADENGA
TORRENTIAL rains accompanied by hailstorms pounded the Midlands capital, Gweru on Tuesday and left a trail of destruction, including destruction of houses.
Roofs were also blown off at Mtapa Police Station, while several other infrastructure in the city was destroyed.
Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko confirmed that the Mtapa police station had some of its infrastructure destroyed.
“I will come back to you later to give you the extent of the damages caused,” Mahoko said.
The strong winds also damaged roofs at the popular Salaco night club in Mtapa.
A vendor who operates near the night spot said the heavy rains were accompanied by strong winds, adding that they damaged the roof, while roofing sheets were blown off 50 metres away from the night club.
“It was actually scary the way the roof sheets flew off the building. It’s only fortunate that people were not injured,” an informal trader who only identified herself as MaNcube said.
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NewsDay visited the affected areas and found that street light poles had fallen as a result of the strong winds.
There was also destruction of pre-cast walls at the light industrial areas in the city as a result of the hailstorm.
In some areas in Mkoba suburb, houses were submerged in water with residents blaming it on the poor drainage system in the city.
“Some of our property was soaked in water and damaged,” Virginia Moyo of Mkoba 20 said.
She said houses were submerged in water to knee level.
Three months ago, Gweru City Council embarked on a storm drain clearance exercise to reduce the effects of the flash floods that usually hit the city during the rainy season.
Over the years, residents have blamed the local authority for the poor drainage system which has resulted in recurrent flash floods in residential areas and the city centre.
Follow Stephen on Twitter @jagganox78
