Floods Kill 26 In Malawi

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By Draxon Maloya.
Malawi. (News of The South) – Lives of 26 people have been lost in Malawi following heavy flooding that has hit most parts of the districts in the southern region.
The continuous torrential rains that are hitting most districts in the region have rendered thousands of people destitute while hundreds have sustained various degrees of injuries.
Numerous property including houses, domestic utensils, crop fields, livestock and infrastructure such as roads and bridges have extensively been damaged. The perennial flooding Chikwawa district has recorded the highest number of casualties with seven deaths recorded followed by Thyolo District which has recorded five deaths.
This is the level of damage the country has witnessed during the past week since intense rainfall characterized by strong hailstorms started wrecking havoc in the district where movement in most areas has been restricted.
Meanwhile President Arthur Peter Mutharika who is on a visit in the country’s northern region has declared state of national disaster in all areas affected by the floods.

Ambulance swept into the river after bridge collapses in Malawi floods

According to the presidential press secretary Mgeme Kalirani, the situation has not spared the energy sector which has forced the Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) to shut down its power station at Nkula and Kapichira power station hence a loss of 270 megawatts of hydro generation capacity against 320 megawatts.

The President is very concerned with the situation and has directed the Department of Disaster Management Affairsunder the Ministry of Homeland security to urgentlymobilise and coordinator emergency relief services to affected areas.

His Excellency the President is also assuring all those affected that his government will do all it can to assist those affected by the heavy rains.“ Kalirani said.
Some of the other affected districts include Balaka, Zomba, Machinga, Mulanje, Phalombe, Neno, Nsanje and Chiradzulu.
There are high expectations that the number of deaths shall rise since a number of district commissioners from the affected areas are still compiling reports due to problems of mobility and communication in some affected districts.