Elizabeth Tsuro Midlands Reporter
HEAVY rains accompanied by strong winds destroyed a section of a school and some houses in Mkoba, Gweru, on Monday evening. The worst affected area is Mkoba 15 where several classroom blocks at Mpumelelo Primary School were blown off and furniture and school books worth thousands of dollars were destroyed.
Several houses in the area had roofs blown off while precast walls were damaged.
The Chronicle news crew visited the affected areas where residents were counting their losses while others were assisting affected families put temporary roofs to prevent further damage to property.
Some were moving their property to other rooms that were not affected. Loice Sithole from Mkoba 15 said she was shocked when she discovered rain pouring into her house.
“While we were sitting in the lounge watching television with my two sons, I heard a loud sound as strong winds ripped off four sheets of asbestos from the house.
“I was left shell shocked and had to rush to look for assistance to protect my property from the rain,” she said.
Mpumelelo Primary School had one of its classroom blocks left roofless and precast wall destroyed when a tree fell on it.
A teacher at the school who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Chronicle that one of the pupils was nursing injuries after being hit by the asbestos debris while some scurried for cover.
“One of the pupils was hit on the head by some of the asbestos debris that fell from the roof. However her condition is stable,” said the teacher.
The Meteorological Services Department has warned that patchy rains being experienced countrywide are likely to continue.
Recently, more than 300 pupils from Silobela in the Midlands province were left learning in the open after strong winds destroyed the roofs of classrooms at St James Primary School in the area.