Relief efforts are underway across Zimbabwe after heavy rains triggered severe flooding, killing at least 83 people and destroying more than 1,300 homes, government and humanitarian agencies said on Thursday.
Torrential rains this month have caused flooding in all ten provinces, with Manicaland near the Mozambique border the hardest hit. Bridges and roads have been washed out, complicating access to affected communities.
In an interview with China Global Television Network, Nathan Nkomo, chief director of the Department of Civil Protection, said, "[For] the artisanal miners, they had their mining holes along the waterways and they were filled. It's like most of them were buried in those. Some [of the toll] is a result of lightning. Lighting has also got a big toll on that figure."
Authorities added that several others drowned while attempting to cross flooded rivers.
The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, in coordination with the Department of Civil Protection, is leading emergency response efforts. Relief teams are delivering tents, tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene kits and medical supplies to displaced families.
Mathias Begede, programs director of the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, said, "We have placed our response teams on high alert and are also repositioning emergency supplies such as tents, tarpaulins, blankets and hygiene kits and also first aid materials across the country."
Local community networks are being mobilized to disseminate weather forecasts and warn residents against crossing swollen rivers.
Although water levels have begun to recede in some of the hardest-hit areas, authorities remain on high alert as the meteorological services department forecasts further rainfall in the coming days. Relief teams continue to monitor dam water levels and rainfall patterns to issue early warnings and evacuation advisories.
Zimbabwe intensifies relief operations as floods kill over 80, destroy homes
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States has a "massive" naval force heading toward Iran, while suggesting it may not be used as tensions remain high amid Iran's unrest.
"We have a lot of ships going that direction just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction. And we'll see what happens," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"We have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won't have to use it. We'll see," Trump added.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, along with three destroyers, was spotted making its way to the Middle East from Asia, according to Tuesday's ship-tracking data.
The USS George H.W. Bush has left Virginia and is at sea in the Atlantic, bound for Europe, said a New York Post report.
Trump reiterated that he prefers to avoid conflict, saying, "I'd rather not see anything happen, but we're watching them very closely."
The president said a planned 25-percent tariff on countries doing business with Iran would take effect "very soon."
Despite his tough rhetoric, including a recent call for regime change in Iran, Trump said he remains open to negotiations.
"Iran does want to talk, and we'll talk," Trump said during his stay in Davos.
Mohammad Pakpour, chief commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said on Thursday that the U.S. and Israel should "draw lessons from historical experiences" and "refrain from any miscalculation" to avoid a "more painful and regret-inducing fate."
In an opinion article published Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that while Iran "will always choose peace over war," if the country faced new attacks, "our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have," citing a contrast with the "restraint" Iran showed in June 2025.
According to a Reuters report on Friday citing a senior Iranian official, Iran had noticed the U.S. deployment of additional troops to the Middle East.
The official said the Iranian military is prepared for the worst-case scenario, and that the nation is on high alert. Iran would regard any form of attack as all-out war against Iran and would respond with the strongest possible measures.
Trump touts "massive" U.S. forces heading toward Iran
