10,000 left homeless as heavy rains ravage Zambia

HEAVY rains have destroyed crops and swept away bridges and houses in a hunger-stricken part of Zambia, leaving more than 10,000 homeless, a senior government official said yesterday.

Webster Mulubisha, permanent secretary in the vice president’s office, said heavy rains had destroyed huge fields of maize and infrastructure in the Gwembe district, 240 miles south of the capital Lusaka.

Prolonged rain had damaged electricity and telephone poles and many roads had become impassable, he said.