BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
THE Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has designated a number of mission schools and church buildings as evacuation centres in preparation for Cyclone Chalane which is expected to hit the country today.
In its Cyclone Chalane response, ZCC said it was engaging its member churches so that they could offer church buildings as evacuation centres.
“To date, a number of mission schools have been designated as evacuation centres. The ZCC has put a small fund on standby for food support and NFIs,” it said.
“The ZCC-trained pastors in psychosocial support (PSS) during Cyclone Idai disaster will now be activated in trauma counselling given fresh memories of traumatic Idai and COVID-19.”
“The ZCC is activating its member churches which are decentralised across the country in all provinces to support the Meteorological Department in disseminating accurate early warning or cyclone tracking information, using different languages found in Zimbabwe,” the council said.
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The ZCC has also put four staff members including two managers, on standby to assist in the response process.
Also a 4×4 vehicle has been deployed to Chipinge for mobility.
“The ZCC will be giving its member churches and partners regular updates as the situation unfolds. ZCC will carry out a rapid assessment in affected areas to establish the extent of the damage and requirements.
“A multidisciplinary team is already in place to carry out the exercise,” it said.
“Lastly, ZCC is reaching out to partners to share this information and appeal for further support to assist affected families with food, non-food items, shelter, water and sanitation, education, health, protection, PSS and counselling services, depending on community needs.”
A cyclone is anticipated in Mozambique and eastern parts of Zimbabwe by the end of December 2020.
According to the Metrological Services Department, the weather conditions experienced in Chipinge so far have shown an abnormal pattern often associated with cyclones.
The government has already started to provide security and healthcare services at evacuation centres in the seven districts of Manicaland where scores of people are set to be relocated in the event Cyclone Chalane hits the country as expected.