MASVINGO — The City of Masvingo has urged residents to remain calm and vigilant after a severe hailstorm swept through parts of the city on Monday evening, damaging homes, commercial properties, vehicles and critical infrastructure.
The storm brought strong winds and heavy hail, damaging rooftops, windows, sliding gates, vehicles and solar panels, while trees were uprooted and sections of power infrastructure were affected. Several families were left with damaged or exposed homes, prompting authorities to make temporary accommodation available.
The Mayor of Masvingo, His Worship Councillor A. Tabe, said the city was responding to the emergency in conjunction with the Masvingo District Civil Protection Unit and other relevant stakeholders.
Preliminary assessments indicated that at least 60 households had been affected, although council teams remained on the ground assessing the full extent of the damage and identifying the immediate needs of residents.
To support families whose homes were severely damaged, the City of Masvingo opened Mucheke Hall and Rujeko Hall as temporary accommodation centres and safe storage facilities for furniture and other household belongings.
Commercial properties were also affected, with broken windows and damaged roofs reported, while vehicles parked in exposed areas sustained windscreen and other hail-related damage.
Despite the scale of the property damage, no deaths or serious injuries had been reported in the initial assessments.
Councillor Tabe said the city was engaging emergency response structures to accelerate assistance to affected residents, while council teams continued clearing damaged areas and assessing municipal infrastructure.
He urged residents to remain calm, vigilant and united, calling on communities to assist vulnerable people, particularly children, the elderly, persons with disabilities and families whose homes had been severely damaged.
“Our thoughts are with every family and individual affected by this devastating disaster. We stand together as a city during this difficult time, and we will continue to provide updates as the damage assessment progresses,” said Councillor Tabe.
The immediate focus is now on supporting affected families, securing damaged properties, clearing debris and restoring essential infrastructure as Masvingo begins its recovery from the severe weather event
