By CHIDA SAKALA –
THE first rain Lusaka received in more than a fortnight yesterday caused havoc, leaving five people dead and several others injured in separate accidents.
The heavy downpour was characterised by heavy winds which brought down trees and some buildings in some parts of the capital city.
Some areas around the central business district were heavily flooded.
Four unidentified people died on the spot when a boundary fence fell on them while seeking shelter at a structure belonging to Lamasat International Zambia, near Puma filling station in John Laing Township.
Among the deceased were three women and a man, while three others were injured in the same incident.
Another unidentified man died near Woodlands Stadium when a portion of the wall shielding a structure in the area fell on him while seeking shelter.
Two men escaped with injuries when part of the roof at Downtown shopping Mall in Kamwala collapsed due to the heavy downpour.
Lusaka Province Police chief Charity Katanga, who confirmed the incidents in an interview yesterday, said the victims had sought shelter by standing along the boundary fences.
“The victims in the Chawama incident were standing at Lamasat trying to avoid the rains when the wall fence collapsed and fell on them. Three others were injured,” she said.
On the Woodlands Stadium incident, Ms Katanga said a man stood along the boundary fence which shields a structure near the stadium, but it collapsed due to the heavy rain.
“The man died on the spot when the fence fell on him as he was seeking shelter from the same rains. We have not received a report of any other victims in this incident,” she said.
In the Downtown incident, two men were injured when part of the roof at the mall collapsed due to the strong winds and rains.
One of the victims, however, only sustained minor injuries and managed to walk away while his compatriot, who suffered serious injuries when a block fell on him, was rushed to the University Teaching Hospital for treatment.
Some traders lost property as their shops were flooded with water.
The traders blamed Downtown management for not improving the structure which has been in existence since 2004.
“This building has not been maintained in the past 11 years and we have been continuously engaging management to work on it but to no avail,” said Isaac Chingumbe, an employee of Debonairs Pizza, which was also affected.
Efforts to get a comment from Downtown management proved futile as no one was ready to say anything on the matter.