GOVERNMENT has been urged to initiate urgent rescue efforts to assist hundreds of families displaced or marooned by floods that swept across Lisungwe Island in Chipinge.
The extreme weather has destroyed homes, crops, livestock and water sources, while roads remain impassable rendering relief efforts futile.
Sixteen villagers have been stranded on Lisungwe Island for days without food.
More than 600 families from Uketi, Chigumeta, Ndhlondhlo and Mathukutheya villages have lost their livelihoods amid fears of disease outbreaks in the affected communities.
Women and girls, who are the backbone of household survival, have been particularly impacted.
Chipinge Residents and Ratepayers Trust Team leader Desdomona Munengwa urged authorities to act swiftly.
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“The floods in Lisungwe Island have stripped women of basic rights to food, shelter and dignity,” Munengwa said in a telephone interview.
“Women are carrying the heaviest burden of this disaster, yet they remain at the margins of response.
“The government must take swift and decisive action to protect women’s rights, ensuring immediate access to food, safe shelter and clean water.”
He added: “Without urgent intervention, the cycle of hunger, displacement and vulnerability will continue to erode livelihoods and deepen poverty.”
Across Manicaland, extreme weather events have claimed 134 lives.
Fatalities have been reported in Honde Valley, where Honde River surged, destroying property and livelihoods.
Project Kuchengetedza Zviwanikwa, a local organisation, called for relief efforts to prioritise women’s access to food, shelter and safe water, adding that Lisungwe Island, once a productive agricultural area, now represents a stark reminder of climate vulnerability and State neglect.
According to reports, Manicaland Civil Protection committee chairperson John Misi has confirmed that evacuation plans are underway.
Misi said this was not the first time villagers had been marooned on Lisungwe Island.
However, humanitarian groups warned that in the absence of immediate intervention destruction will continue, eroding livelihoods and deepening poverty.