Malawian flooding death toll now 45: Relief team struggles to reach affected areas in Lower Shire

The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) has confirmed to have recorded 45 deaths and 577 injuries as of Monday 11th March 2019 as a result of floods in some parts other country.

The deparent also revealed that wo people have been reported missing.

By Monday, the floods had affected about 147,958 households (approximately 739,790 people) with 15,185 households displaced.

It is reported that most of the displaced families are living in camps and in their relations’ houses.

So far, a total of 187 camps have been established in the affected districts.

Meanwhile, there is an ongoing assessments to establish the extent of damage in all the 14 affected districts.

DoDMA has since admitted that due to heavy flooding of many areas in the Lower Shire, it is becoming a nightmare to reach most of the affected communities by roads.

However, DoDMA together with various humanitarian partners is working tirelessly to reach out to all affected people with relief items and social services, at all costs.

Choppers are being used in the Lower Shire to ferry relief items in hard-to-reach areas, as well as ferrying the sick from hard to reach areas for medical attention in nearby health facilities.

On Friday, Malawian President Peter Mutharika declared a State of Emergency in the areas hit hardest by the rains and flooding, which followed the formation of a “tropical disturbance” over the Mozambique Channel earlier in the week.

Mutharika directed emergency relief services to be coordinated immediately and also ordered Malawi’s army to assist those trapped and displaced.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has deployed two boats to accompany the assessment and response; the UN Childrens’ Fund (UNICEF) is providing drones; and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in collaboration with the WFP, is supporting mapping using satellite imagery.

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