Cyclone Idai: Hundreds evacuated amid fears of dam burst

Zimbabwean authorities on Sunday began evacuating residents from the cyclone-hit town of Chimanimani after flood waters weakened a dam wall.

The area is among those hit by cyclone Idai, which has left over 145 people dead and several hundred missing in Zimbabwe.

The storm made landfall on March 14, leaving over 600 people dead in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

“The Civil Protection Unit wishes to inform the public that Manyera dam wall in Vumba has weakened and all those downstream are advised to evacuate and go to higher places,” the unit said in a tweet.

“Please, if you have relatives in this area pass on this message at once.

“The walls have shown signs of giving in and over 1,000 families are in danger,” the unit’s director Nathan Nkomo told dpa.

According to various UN agencies, across the region, some 600,000 people have been displaced and no fewer than 1.7 million have been affected by the cyclone.

The effects of cyclone Idai are also being felt further afield.

Uganda’s National Meteorological Authority said the climatic effects of the cyclone would affect weather systems along the coast, leading to a delayed rainy season.

Seasonal rains in Uganda usually start in early March and end in May, but instead the country has been experiencing intense heat waves.