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Cyclone Idai dislodged rocks as big as automobiles in the Rusitu Valley in eastern Zimbabwe, sending a deadly torrent down a river and destroying 160 houses in its path. The landslides in Rusitu and the nearby town of Chimanimani are the reason why so many people are missing, presumed dead under the rocks and rubble.
Chimanimani and Rusitu along the upland wetlands of eastern Zimbabwe are areas that normally receive abundant rainfall year after year. There is growing speculation that deforestation and poor land practices in the region have seriously compromised its ability to resist what nature is doing to it.
"Large tracts of land are bare of trees that are cut for uses such as firewood, charcoal making and the illegal timber trade," said Charlene Hewat, director of Greenline Africa Trust in Zimbabwe, at RFI.
"This deforestation has contributed to increased degradation of soils and landslides."
A long-time resident of Chimanimani told RFI that changes in land use over the last 24 years have "most certainly" contributed to the landslides that devastated places like the suburb of Ngangu, where more than 100 people were killed.
The resident, who asked not to be named, added that this included building higher houses on the hills.
She admits however that "there are areas that have slipped and where there has been very little disturbance".
The government says it will be tougher as to where people will build their homes in the future. The Minister of Local Government, July Moyo, told Cabinet this week: "It is really necessary to study the Chimanimani, Chipinge and affected areas ecosystem and to be able to say to ourselves: this is the way we want to install people. "
In contrast, the Vumba Mountains north of Chimanimani were able to withstand similar rainfall. The Vumba consists mainly of evergreen forest and natural grbadlands.
After writing on Facebook after Hurricane Idai Vumba, Ben Freeth compared the region's natural ability to soak up the rain to "a very drunken person who was still able to hold his glbad while remaining healthy in spirit and reasonable and pleasant around and not falling. "
It is not only in Zimbabwe that problems of deforestation have been raised.
The researchers commented on the damage caused by Cyclone Idai in neighboring Mozambique, explaining that human factors have exacerbated the floods.
In a blog post, the Western Indian Ocean Deltas Research and Exchange Network (WIoDER) reported that barren hills in the watersheds of major rivers prevent rainfall from slowing down, to infiltrate the soil and be absorbed by vegetation (absent). "
Hewat from Zimbabwe said, "The question is when will humans understand the importance of trees and stop uncontrolled cuts?"
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