Zambia: Lightening and rains in the Katete District claimed the lives of 17 herds of cattle on Friday. The cattle belonged to seven families living in the community.
Currently, Zambia Is in the middle of the rainy season and many areas are struggling with heavy downpours, struggling with winds and even lightning.
The weather conditions have caused a lot of damage to the many building infrastructures. The authorities of the Katete District Disaster Management have shared some details about the incident.
Disaster Management Officer (DDMO) Kondwani Banda shared that the domestic animals met their demise while grazing along the Katete River. According to the officer, the incident happened around the Kavulamungu area of Dole Ward.
The Katete district was experiencing rain in the afternoon between 13:00 and 15:00 hours on Friday. The disaster management officers speculate that the lightning struck during this time and resulted in the deaths of the cattle.
Mbaka Phiri, who is one of affected cattle owners, said the death of his animals was a major drawback. He and his entire family depended on them for survival. The pe
“I have lost five cows. It is all we have for our livelihood. We use them for ploughing and as you can see we are in rainy season which means it is the farming season,” he lamented.
Phiri appealed to government to look into the plight of the affected families. The representatives from the other affected families have also reached out to the government. The people of Zambia have expressed their support to the families that were affected.
In the last two months, incidents of lightning and heavy rains have caused significant loss of life and property in many districts and provinces of Zambia.
Recently, more than 70 families of Chifunabulu District were left homeless after heavy rains ravaged their homes. These families were forced to take shelter in the community’s primary school.
Meanwhile, over the same period of time, incidents of lightnings also resulted in several deaths.