Zimbabwe says nearly 250 killed in flooding since December
HARARE, Zimbabwe — For months, they pleaded for rain. Now they’re dying from the downpour. Floods in Zimbabwe have killed nearly 250 people since December in regions that were recently suffering from drought.
This southern African country this week appealed to international donors for $100 million to help those affected by the floods, which have washed away bridges and roads and cut off some communities. President Robert Mugabe, currently in Singapore for a medical checkup, declared the floods to be a national disaster.
Just last year, a regional drought largely induced by the El Nino weather phenomenon killed livestock and forced people to forage for food in forests and seek drinking water from parched river beds in many parts of Zimbabwe.
Desperate for rainfall, some people revived a long-abandoned tradition, dating to pre-colonial times, of rain-making ceremonies. In parts of Zimbabwe, traditional leaders and spirit mediums, with the support of the government, led ceremonies atop mountains and other sacred places to appeal to ancestral spirits for rain.