Chief Sinazongwe urges urgent attention on flood situation

Chief Sinazongwe urges urgent attention on flood situation
By Sandra Mulowa
Sun 28 Feb. 2010, 03:30 CAT

CHIEF Sinazongwe has said the flood situation in his area is desperate and needs urgent attention. And four people have died in senior chief Mweemba's area after the car they were in was swept away by water. Chief Sinazongwe said the rains had caused havoc in Southern Province.

"I am very sad. The continuous rainfall has caused havoc here. The rains are bad, they are beyond the expectations, and bridges have been washed away. We are cut off completely, even the road that leads to the palace is cut off," he said.

"The Malima Road is also cut off. All bridges are gone, crops are gone and others are submerged, houses have collapsed and others are collapsing. In senior chief Mweemba's area, three lives have been lost, including vehicles are stuck."

He called on the government to urgently send officials to assess the situation.
"Someone from government should come here and see the picture on the ground, they shouldn't just hear," he said.

His palace has been cut off from the rest of the district following heavy rains.
And a Sinazongwe businessman Richwell Siamunene said several bridges had been washed away.

He named the bridges as Nangombe, Kanzenze, Sialwele, Nakula and Sigombela (chief Mweemba's area).

"About six power lines have been uprooted due to rains and fish traders have lost their fish. Lumama is extensively affected; its cut off in three areas, no vehicle is going to Choma. We don't know how the people are moving and living," he said.

Siamunene said two bodies of the four people that are feared dead in chief Mweemba's area had been retrieved.

"The other bodies are still missing (of a boy and a woman). They were in a vehicle which was going to Maamba, and then it was pushed due to flood currents. There were about 10 people in the van, which was driven by Max Sidenda. This happened two days ago," he said.

And the Zambia Red Cross Society (ZRCS) has said that it is closely monitoring the flood situation in North Western Province.

And the government in conjunction with ZRCS on Thursday started relocating about 161 families in Lusaka from flood areas to a camp that has been set up at Independence Stadium.

In an interview yesterday after permanent secretary in the office of the Vice-President Davies Sampa, other government and Zambia Army officials toured the campsite at Independence Stadium, ZRCS secretary general Charles Mushitu said North Western Province was a source of conern.

"Our men are on the ground details will be given later. The area is a source of worry," he said.

He also said ZRCS was still waiting for reports from different parts of the country on the flood situation.