By A Correspondent – Chipinge South, Manicaland Province, Torrential rains that began on 22 April 2026 have unleashed widespread devastation across Lisungwe Island and surrounding villages, plunging hundreds of families into a deepening humanitarian crisis. More than 600 households in Uketi, Chigumeta, Ndhlondhlo, and Mathukutheya have lost crops, livestock, homes, and access to clean water. Roads are impassable, health risks are rising, and women and girls, the backbone of household survival, are bearing the heaviest burden.

Ward 29 Councillor Liberty Chauke confirmed that intense rainfall across the Save and Runde catchment areas funnels into Mahenye before flowing into Mozambique, leaving Lisungwe Island highly exposed. He noted that many villagers remained on the floodplain attempting to salvage crops when floods swept away temporary shelters, household property, and fields. Chauke urged government authorities to immediately declare the situation a national disaster to unlock emergency assistance.

The floods in Chipinge South come amid a wider climate emergency in Manicaland Province, where at least 134 lives have been lost to extreme weather events.

In Honde Valley, entire families were swept away by the Honde River. Yet communities remain vulnerable due to weak disaster preparedness frameworks, with the outdated Civil Protection Act of 1989 offering little protection to those on the frontlines of climate shocks.

Poverty Alleviation Trust, a leading women’s rights organisation in Chipinge, warns that Lisungwe Island, once a productive breadbasket, now stands as a stark symbol of climate vulnerability and institutional neglect.

The organisation stresses that any relief response must prioritise women’s access to food, safe shelter, and clean water. “Women are at the receiving end of this disaster. They are hungry, homeless, and exposed. A gender‑responsive response is not optional; it is essential,” the Trust said.

Echoing this call, Ancillah Gwegweni of the Chipinge Vulnerable Children Intervention Programme urged swift action, warning that delays would intensify hunger, displacement, and poverty among women and children.

The Climate Action Coalition Zimbabwe has also condemned the recurring floods as evidence of climate injustice, calling on the government to declare Lisungwe Island a disaster area, strengthen early‑warning systems, and invest in climate‑resilient livelihoods. “Climate change is no longer a future threat, it is a daily reality for communities like Lisungwe, and it demands urgent, people‑centred action,” the Coalition said.

For Mahenye and the wider Chipinge South, climate change is no longer just an environmental issue; it is a human rights emergency demanding immediate action.