Zimbabwean woman clings to tree for 6 hours with baby on her back’ to survive floods

A Zimbabwean woman, Nyaradzo Makholiso, 38, miraculously survived cyclone induced floods by “hanging precariously on a tree branch for six hours”, with her 2-months old baby strapped on her back, a report says.

The floods were a result of torrential rains induced by cyclone Dineo which hit parts of the southern African country two weeks ago.

According to The Standard, families in Masvingo’s Chivi area were left devastated by the floods after one of the rivers in the area burst open, leaving a trail of destruction.

Makholiso and Maud Goredema (65) of Nzviyo village watched helplessly as their houses were swept away by the floods.

Narrating her ordeal, Makholiso, dressed in an orange top, a tattered brown skirt and torn sandals – the only clothes left after floods swept away all her belongings – said she was left homeless. Her livestock were also swept away.

“I owe my survival to this tree. Had it not been for this tree, I would be dead…,” Makholiso reportedly said, as she looked at a Mobola plum tree, with tears trickling down her cheeks.

Reports last week indicated that floods in the southern African country had killed at least 246 people and left nearly 2 000 homeless since December.
The country had since appealed to international donors for $100 million to assist those affected.