Several people were injured and shops had their roofs collapse as a result of a violent lightning and hailstorm in Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Midlands home area.
Impeccable reports from the area reveal several families were yesterday left stranded during the storms over the last 24 hours.
At least 32 people were also reportedly injured, when lightning struck some houses during the night. Pictures (see gallery) taken by cellphones reveal the aftermath of the disaster today with several shops left roofless. Thatched roofs and mud walls attract lightning because they trap water, experts warned today, and the area remains at risk from more lightning and storm strikes.
 

A source from the Mbire villager, Florence Fungai Marimbire told ZimEye.com, “The rains are now serious”, a source told ZimEye.com. There are about 10 shops at the Chachacha growth point that were destroyed beyond repair. Some houses had their roofs blown away. Nearby houses were also destroyed. They continued, “the rains started yesterday around 16:30 pm. There were heavy winds and some buildings schools were destroyed while people were sheltered inside. Thank God there were just minor injuries. Makonde school was destroyed and so was Mupangai Secondary. A Tongogara council pathfinder car was destroyed while under a shed with others. In the nearby kraals situated near trees, the cattle there were killed.