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PEOPLE living in the valley in Luano have been cut off from the rest of the district and the province after Lunsemfwa and Mkushi rivers burst their banks.
Luano District Commissioner Luke Mwamba confirmed yesterday that the rivers overspilled following a heavy downpour experienced last week.
Mr Mwamba also attributed the floods to the poor state of roads in the valley where there were no drainages
“The roads in the valley are impassable and we have no drainages, so whenever we experience heavy downpours the area floods,” Mr Mwamba said.
He said the affected areas were in chiefs Mboroma, Mbosha and Chembe.
Mr Mwamba said the people in the areas were unable to cross over to the other side as the roads are impassable.
Meanwhile, a man only identified as a Mr Ngulube, an employee at Lunsemfwa Pontoon drowned on Saturday around 22:00 hours.
The deceased fell off the pontoon as he was trying to help a driver of a motor vehicle cross Lunsemfwa River.
Mr Mwamba said the pontoon stops operating around 18:00 hours, but Mr Ngulube decided to take the ferry to the other side of the river after working hours when the accident happened.
The District Commissioner said the search for Mr Ngulube’s body had been going on since Saturday.
He said divers from the Zambia Army had since been engaged to search for the body.
Meanwhile, Mwekera River in Kitwe’s Kamfinsa farming area has flooded and cut off hundreds of residents settled on one side of the river bank.
The river, which serves as a boundary for people living in the northern and southern parts of the area, flooded following heavy rain experienced in Kitwe.
A check by the Times yesterday found a number of residents, including school-going children, stranded.
Some people living in Chapashi area, a predominantly farming community, said the flooding of the river posed a serious danger to people, especially children.
Ellie Nalavwe, who gathered the courage to cross the flooded river after folding her dress, said she was left with no choice but to risk her life.
“All the social amenities such as the schools, clinic including the market are on the other side of the river bank and so we are simply left with no choice but to take a risk of crossing the flooded river,” she said.
