Floods Cause Death, Destruction In Botswana

Wene Owino, PANA Correspondent
GABORONE, Botswana (PANA) - Heavy rains and floods have killed at least one person in Botswana and cut off the road links between Gaborone to most parts of the country.

The floods have left a trail of destruction rendering several people homeless as houses collapsed or submerged. A number of people have also been injured in the overflowing water.

As the floods raged on, residents of some Gaborone estates had to be recalled from work Tuesday morning to go back and evacuate their property after their houses submerged.

According to the meteorological department, the rains which started pounding the capital Monday morning are to continue for another two days.

The rains have caused the three major seasonal rivers which criss-cross Gaborone - Metsimotlhabe, Segoditshane and Notwane - to have over-flooded their banks, submerging a number of roads and houses in the city.

As a result road links from Gaborone to most parts of the country, including the second city of Francistown, have been cut.

A number of roads in Gaborone have been barricaded after being submerged with floods. This came after a number of cars were swept away by floods.

Also affected were the operations of the Botswana Press Agency. The agency's electronic equipment at the Gaborone headquarters could not be switched on for fear of electric shock.

The Botswana Defence Force has been drafted in by the disaster preparedness committee to help evacuate children and property.

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