A final assessment by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) through Karonga District Council says 8,286 households—representing a population of 55,921 people— have been affected by the floods disaster that has hit the district.
The report, released on Tuesday, also indicates that the affected population comprises of 4,467 under-five children, 385 elderly people, 261 orphans and 15 physically challenged persons, among other categories.
The disaster resulting from the heavy downpours experienced in the last two weeks has so far claimed four lives. Three people are reported missing while six are confirmed to have sustained serious injuries in the catastrophe.
According to the report, areas in traditional authorities Wasambo, Mwirang’ombe, Kyungu, Kilupula and Mwakaboko are the worst affected.
Karonga Disaster Risk Management Officer, Walusungu Mwafulirwa, described the situation as catastrophic but he said Dodma and the district council are doing everything possible to support the people’s livelihoods.
He said: “The council does not have a readily available allocation of resources for disasters. There is need for resources to facilitate timely disaster assessments and response operations.”
Mwafulirwa disclosed that areas such as Kasisi in Paramount Chief Kyungu were inaccessible at the time of the assessment, such that data was not adequately collected.
“A flyover by the Malawi Defence Force [MDF] helicopter and a Unicef drone assisted with an aerial surveillance of some of the inaccessible areas,” he stressed.
In a separate interview, Principal Secretary for Disaster Management Affairs Clement Chinthu Phiri echoed Mwafulirwa’s sentiments on mobility challenges to disaster stricken communities.
He cited the washing away of Jalawe Bridge on South Rukuru River as one example on top of the impassable roads to some of the hard-to-reach areas which are equally in need of immediate help.
“Malawi has a challenge of roads, you will recall that our trucks full of relief items were stuck at Jalawe due to the destroyed bridge which keeps being washed away now and again, so we relied on the district commissioner and our team on the ground to provide basic necessities to the people,” Phiri explained.
He further bemoaned the absence of specially designed helicopters at MDF which can carry bulky relief items to disaster areas.
Meanwhile, the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services has indicated that heavy rains are likely to continue in Karonga and more damage should be anticipated.
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