The Ministry of Green Economy and Environment has warned of heavy rains and thunderstorms in some parts of the country.
Ministry of Green Economy and Environment Collins Nzovu said the heavy rains are expected to affect parts of the Eastern, Western, Southern, North-western, Copperbelt, Lusaka and Central Provinces.
In a Press Statement made available to the media last evening, the Minister said widespread heavy rainfall has been observed in the country from the 1st of January 2023 against the prediction of normal to above normal rainfall forecasted by the Ministry for the 2022/2023 rain season.
“Since the start of the season, most parts of the country have recorded normal to above normal rainfall. From 1st January 2023, widespread heavy rainfall has been experienced over most parts of the country. This has resulted in saturated soil moisture that has led to flash floods and flooding in some parts of the country,” he said.
Mr Nzovu added that Tropical Storm Cheneso over Mozambique is expected to maintain the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone over the Southern parts of Zambia resulting in widespread heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and strong winds over the named areas.
“In the next 24 to 48 hours, the Tropical Storm over Madagascar named Cheneso will maintain the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) over the southern parts of Zambia. This will result in widespread rainfall coupled with heavy falls, thunderstorms and strong winds especially over Eastern, Western, Southern, North-western, Copperbelt, Lusaka and Central Provinces. This may cause damage to infrastructure such as roads, bridges and buildings including agricultural land” he added.
He has since assured the nation that the ministry will, in collaboration with other stakeholders such as Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), and Water Resource Management Authority (WARMA), continue to update the nation on the anticipated rainfall, flash floods and flooding across the country.
Prepare for more load shedding due to heavy rains is what this minister is trying to tell us. To be effective, you need to work quietly and let the results do the talking. If I were this man, I would quietly work on plans to capture the flood waters and divert it to reservoirs. But I guess he is doing the work on behalf of the disaster management team.
I dont think this minister knows his job description,,,
With these predicted heavy rains, we expect Kariba dam to be full to capacity and if all the load shedding explanations are based on low water levels, load shedding must henceforth cease, not so?
Not so…they will tell you that too much water is also not good for power generation because water was not the real reason in the first place. God has ways of exposing those who deceive. These politicians have a lot of work to do before they can regain our trust. They are making their jobs harder and perhaps making themselves irrelevant.
What happened to the Metrological Department
Its called the Meteorological Department. In contrast, Metrological would refer to the science of measurements – weights, volumes and such like. What happened to the department? It is there – under the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment which is why Collins Nzovu is talking about information that comes from there. This also goes to those who may think that in talking about forecasted heavy rainfall, Hon Nzovu is displaying a lack of knowledge of his job description.
So the minister is now the spokesperson for the meteorological department?
I thought in view of the anticipated heavy rains, he would have been spending his time and effort coordinating relief efforts with other line ministries and let the department do their usual broadcasts.
Things are not adding up here,we are anticipating heavy rains in Lusaka,Copperbelt,Eastern,western,Northwestern including Southern Province where Kariba dam is located yet we are saying there is no water in Kariba dam,Why are we still having load shedding which is a minus to our economy,we are not a serious people.