Flash floods left scores of Bulawayo residents counting their losses, with the city’s Fire Brigade saying it was overwhelmed by distress calls following heavy rains that pounded the city on Sunday.

Some residents in Nketa, Nkulumane, Tshabalala and Cowdray Park suburbs were among the worst affected.

Bulawayo Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Mr Richard Peterson said his team attended to numerous flash flood calls from 3PM to 10PM on Sunday.

“We were so overwhelmed by the calls. We were unable to attend to some but we attended to most of them. Nketa 9, Nketa 6, Nketa 8 and part of Nkulumane even in Lobengula we had one or two cases. But I think 90 percent of the flooding occurred in houses in Nketa,” said Mr Peterson.

He said the major cause for flash floods was failure to create weep holes after people erected precast walls, thus interfering with the flow of water.

Mr Peterson said his team also faced resistance from some residents who did not want holes to be drilled into the pre-cast walls.

A Chronicle news crew visited some suburbs yesterday and residents narrated their ordeal.- state media