Drought hits Zimbabwe as other parts experience floods

The Cyclone idai might not be the only deadly calamity that struck Zimbabwe.

As eastern Zimbabwe struggles with the aftermath of floods that have killed nearly 270 people and destroyed homes and roads, other parts of Zimbabwe are facing a very different crisis: too little water.

Lake Chivero, the main source of water for the capital Harare, is at 60 percent of its usual capacity at this time of year, following poor rains, said Richard Kunyadini, Harare City Council’s water manager. The city’s two other dams, Harava and Seke, are 7 percent full, he said.

Water rationing is nothing new in Harare, but it more commonly begins months later, residents say. Shortages, they say, hit the poor, who cannot afford to dig private wells, the hardest.

Climate change is bringing more weather extremes around the world, and Zimbabwe this year is suffering from opposite crises at once: deadly flooding and bitter drought.

In far eastern Zimbabwe, Cyclone Idai, which blasted ashore in Mozambique, has pounded Chimanimani and Chipinge districts and parts of Masvingo district, causing flooding and mudslides and forcing people from their homes.

The Cycloe Idai was the first ever natural disaster to kill many people in a short period of time.

Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Malawi experienced the deadly cyclone idai.