Manyame Park residents are accusing the Chitungwiza Municipality of causing flash floods in their area on Sunday afternoon, after council workers dug a drainage trench that diverting water to their houses.

At some houses, the water went up to window level, damaging valuable property such as television sets, refrigerators, beds and blankets.

The municipality has accepted the blame and is working on modalities to compensate the victims.

When The Herald visited the affected area yesterday, the residents were seething with anger, saying they had lost almost everything to the flash floods.

Ms Rudo Marowa said: "Council started digging trenches on Friday without the residents' consent and they were stopped by some residents, but then, they left the trench open.

"So, with the rains that started on Saturday, the water flowed into the drainage trench and then into houses, damaging precast walls and houses.

"We did not sleep all night due to the flooding, which resulted in all our electrical appliances, furniture, cement, a car and refrigerators, among others, being affected."

Ms Marowa said wells had been filled with dirty water, and they were struggling to find clean water to drink and use for cooking.

The residents also expressed their worry that other problem now is that children were now playing in the trenches and parents feared they may be hurt.

Chitungwiza Municipality spokesperson Mr Tafadzwa Kachiko yesterday said council was working on compensating the affected families.

"We are going to sit down with the families affected and discuss the extent to which the damage happened and work on how we can compensate them," he said.