Govt begins survey of flooded areas in Lusaka, plans relocation of affected households

The Lusaka City Council (LCC) Department of fire brigades has started the process of identifying places that are highly affected with floods for possible relocation of residents.

LCC is working with the Zambia Airforce and Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) for the operation.

The exercise that will take a period of seven days would include capturing of aerial pictures and videos to be used in planning of the relocation, says LCC Public Relations officer, Mastone Moonze.

Moonze said Lusaka district was one of the affected places to flash floods that has seen a number of houses in Kamwala South,Kamulanga,Kanyama,Mass media and Arcades shopping areas submerged in water.

“The operation is a response to President Hakainde Hichilema’s call for the local authority to work with other government departments in relocating the affected house holds,” he said in a statement issued on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Moonze said LCC through the Engineering Department had also beefed up the human resource to help the Zambia National Service excavate drainages in Kanyama township.

This is also meant to improve an Earth drain from Chawama to Makeni into the Chilongolo stream.

“We also wish to advise members of the community living in townships that have no drainage systems to take advantage of the 2023 allocation of Constituency Development Fund and apply for the construction of drainages by the local authority.

“Our Engineers have always been on the ground working with our performance contractors in unlocking clogged drainages in the central business District and other townships,” he said.

As a long term measure , he said, LCC was also designing its drainage system using the Master plan of 2018 to completely resolve the issue of the central business district getting flooded during rain season.

“LCC continue to call on citizens to engage the Planning department every time they plan to buy plots and build houses,as this will lessen the challenges of people illegally constructing houses in water logged areas,” Moonze said.

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