Churches, NGOs call for emergency aid for Malawi quake victims
Churches in Malawi have offered special prayers and called on their members to aid thousands of people made homeless by a series of earthquakes that have hit the northern region of Karonga, bordering Tanzania.
The session clerk for St James Church of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Blantyre Synod, Raban Banda, said during a service, “As a church, let us remember our friends in Karonga with prayers. But not only that, we would like to request donations of tents, plastic sheets, kitchen utensils, blankets and clothes so that we can send them to our friends who have lost property due to the earthquake.”
Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs has described the situation in Karonga, as “pathetic and sad” and has also appealed for urgent relief items.
“We urgently need big tents for families, for houses are virtually inhabitable,” Lilian Ng’oma, the Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, said from Karonga, adding “We are appealing to the international community for assistance.”
Some tents, courtesy of the Malawi Red Cross Society and Ng’oma’s department, have been pitched but, according to Karonga District Commissioner Gesten Macheka, they are a far cry to the required quantity.
“We need at least 48,000 tents to cater for the 270,000 people in the district,” he said.
Macheka said 1,111 houses crumbled following the earthquake, while some 3,565 more have huge cracks and may fall any time, therefore it is risky to enter them.
Several schools have also been destroyed, forcing students to abandon classes.
“We are still urging people to avoid sleeping in their houses because the situation is still unstable,” said Macheka.
Karonga, which is growing rapidly due to a multi-million-dollar uranium mine project by the Australian multi-nation – Paladin Africa – resembled a village over-run by invading troops.
People who are yet to get tents are staying in the open, while water was gushing from the ground through broken pipes and sewers.
In some areas, there were no standing houses.
Karonga District Health Officer James Mpunga said close to 300 people were treated for varying degrees of injuries from broken bones to skin lacerations on Monday and 63 of them are still on admission at Karonga District Hospital.
“We are still receiving more patients from outlaying areas,” Mpunga said.
The death toll still remained three in the wake of Sunday’s earthquake which recorded a magnitude of 6.0 on the Ritchter Scale.
An earlier one that measured 5.9 on the Ritchter Scale also killed a child.
Ng’oma, the Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, said apart from the tents people also urgently need food, clean water and medical supplies.
“We fear an outbreak of diarhearal diseases because this is rainy season and there are no abolution facilities to cater for the displaced people,” he said.
Karonga has been hit by a series of earthquakes and after-shocks since 6 December, while tremours also shook the district Sunday night.–(Additional reporting by Pana, pictures by Simon Msowoya, Nyasa Times)
Tagged with: earthquake, Gasten Macheka, Karonga, Lilian Ng'oma
“Macheka said 1,111 houses crumbled following the earth quake, while 3,565 more have huge cracks and may fall anytime soon.” This is indeed a disaster for our brothers and sisters in karonga. However, the DC is asking for 48,000 tents? Do you mean you want to avail a tent to each victim of the quake? I should ask the DC to be more realistic for requesting for donation and assistance because sometimes exaggrations tend to ward off would be donars for obvious reasons. Donations and assistance will come to the people of Karonga but please avoid making such exaggrations.
As we seek help for the victims in Karonga let us also remember Malawi as a country in prayers for the much needed rain to come and also for a government that is going west instead of going east to come back on track.Pangonopangono tiwanyemere anzathuwa
Lets keep our friends in prayer during this difficult time.
My sincere ‘pepani’ to our brothers and sisters in Karonga. I would like to make a special appeal to the Ministry of Housing in Malawi to seriously revise housing regulations and set up model earthquake resistant houses for people to learn from when they build. Other countries that are used to earthquakes have long ago devised such housing rules. Brick houses are extremely dangerous when it comes to serious earthquakes especially when they are combined with poor roofing materials that are not flexible enough when the house starts to shake. Most of our people in the villages still use mud and make houses that have shallow foundations.Earthquake proof houses are not necessarily expensive, the only thing needed is a change of mentality for our people when it comes to house construction. I am sure our universities especially the architecture departments can come up with these model houses. Our universities have let us down when it comes to disasters. Where is the development of local sciences and industry? From what the experts say, Malawi lies within the earthquake prone Rift Valley. We should expect more of these earthquakes in the future. We are lucky however that we dont have cyclones, tornadoes, volcanos and tsunamis. Othewise, where would our village houses be?
Well said Simeon! we need people with sense like you.
To friends of Karonga, this is the time in need of your help. let us come together in time of grief.Let us orginise and contribute in cash and kind towards this tragidy.A friend in need is a friend indeed.Let us propose the strategy to follow.God save Karonga.
Also lets not abuse relief aid meant for the victims.
We pray that these calamities should not claim any more lives.