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Message: [QUOTE="Shamiso, post: 83284, member: 160"] Harare tells idlers to clear out early as floods and traffic pile up. City leaders urged people without errands to leave the CBD before nightfall, citing heavy rains, flash flooding, and jammed roads. Spokesperson Stanley Gama pushed early exits, while officials linked the crisis to neglected drains, vandalism, and wetland loss that magnifies runoff. Acting town clerk Engineer Phakamile Mabhena Moyo reported frequent flash floods in Mbare, Highfield, Waterfalls, Warren Park, Budiriro, and Glen Norah. The city, working with the Civil Protection Unit, asked residents in low spots to track alerts, stay watchful, and move fast when water rises. Motorists were told to slow down on waterlogged streets, skip parking under trees, keep litter out of drains, and help clear grates near properties. Drivers were urged to shift travel times, leave the CBD early, and call city emergency services or nearby offices when floods threaten. Critics called the leave early advice absurd, arguing it shifts responsibility onto residents while ignoring broken drainage and messy urban planning that fuel repeat disasters. Engineers and planners pointed to an aging stormwater network never upgraded for rapid growth. Sections have collapsed, many inlets sit choked with silt, trash, and construction waste, and missing metal covers expose hazards and reduce flow. Environmental experts warned that wetland clearance in Borrowdale, Budiriro, Marlborough, Mt Pleasant, and along rivers removed natural sponges. With storage gone, water races into undersized pipes, heightening risk to lives, homes, and infrastructure. [/QUOTE]

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