Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds has left devastation in the Midlands district and Gweru district hospital damaged.
Part of the roof of the recently commissioned Center of Excellence at Gweru District Hospital was blown off, while some vehicles were destroyed after colliding with trees.
However, Midlands District Medical Director, Dr Mary Muchekiza, assured the nation of normal services despite the unfortunate incident.
“We experienced a widespread hailstorm yesterday for a very short period of time. Unfortunately, some trees fell on top of the buildings. The building is a center of excellence for patients being treated for HIV and AIDS using antiretroviral therapy. The damage from our initial assessment as a team shows that it was not “It was not extensive. What was widespread was the storm. The damage to the building will not disrupt the provision of any service as far as we are concerned. So our message to the community is that they can still continue to come to Gweru District Hospital for their services,” she said. “.
The government urged the local authority to cut down trees that had exceeded their normal lifespan, while pledging support to rehabilitate the damaged building.
“I would urge the local authority to prune tall trees especially big and old trees and in essence beautify our city. They should also take a step in cooperation with the Forestry Commission so that they can re-green the city. This should be done in such a way that new trees and suitable species are also put in line with the climate change that we are witnessing these days. We also encourage communities, and even private parties, to prune their trees as well and cut down most of those old trees on their property. “During snowstorms, it is not appropriate to park vehicles under trees,” noted the head of the regional civil protection unit, Mr. Charlton Muroff.
The country witnessed some snow storms over the weekend that led to property destruction, with a building collapse in Harare killing one person, injuring six and destroying property. ZBC
