oOn behalf of Government and the Nation, and on my own behalf, I wish to express my sincere condolences to the bereaved families affected by this disaster and to wish speedy recovery, to the injured.

Given the tragic loss of life, the general devastation registered so far and the continuing torrential rains, His Excellency the President, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, has declared a State of Disaster to respect of the affected areas or areas likely to be affected by Tropical Cyclone ldai in terms of Subsection (1) of Section 27 of the Civil Protection Act (Chapter 10:06).

Accordingly, national and sub-national Civil Protection structures are being instructed to undertake the following priority actions:Support the affected communities giving urgency to search, rescue and evacuation for the marooned/cut-off communities,Conduct rapid needs assessments and render relief accordingly,Continue monitoring and surveillance of the situation, andDevise a comprehensive management strategy to address the entirety of this disaster.

Areas within the Cyclone’s pathway Include Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West, parts of Masvingo and Midlands provinces. Tropical Cyclone Icial’s was also expected to affect Harare Metropolitan and the Matebeleland provinces.

Manicaland province has so far suffered the worst brunt of the Cyclone which has resulted in the loss of lives, destruction of property and severe damage to roads, bridges and communication infrastructure.

According to statistics at hand , the trail of disaster in the Chimanimani is as follows;

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