Over eighteen houses had their roofs blown off while eight people were injured when their houses collapsed due to heavy winds in Chipata district in the Eastern Province.
The houses in Jin, Navutika and Jere Compounds had their roofs blown off while others completely collapsed during a heavy downpour, Thursday.
The rains that started around 12:00 hours destroyed household goods leaving over 18 families homeless.
One of the victims, Jones Phiri told ZANIS that three of the victims were rushed to the hospital complaining of chest pains and head injuries.
Another victim of the same area, Yeta Pakali of Old Jim residential area said she had invested heavily on the roof that was blown off by wind.
” I spent K11.5 million on the roof alone and all my electrical items worth millions of kwacha were submerged in water, I doubt if they will ever work again,” said the visibly shaken Mrs. Pakali.
Another victim, Felix Sandamuka from the same area lamented that he only completed roofing the house recently.
Meanwhile, Old Jim Resident Development Committee (RDC) chairperson, Davies Jere advised people in the area to be careful when selecting roofing materials saying that timber used in roofing should be strong.
He said the planks used should be dry because if not, the nails get loose overtime and they can be blown off.
He has since appealed to government through the Disaster Management Mitigation Unit (DMMU) for assistance as most of the victims have been left homeless.
Courtesy of ZNBC
Blame global warming …. maybe, it wont answer back.
Costly building materials,so short cuts made , no buildings inspectors,last one went with Welensky,
CAN SOME one bring down the cost of these materials,by having competion in the production sector.THATS the only language these multi-national companies hear.
Incentives to new manufactures for eg the cement sector.