Malawi floods death toll triples, 200,000 homeless

The death toll from floods ravaging Malawi has risen to 176, with many more missing and 200,000 homeless, Vice President Saulos Chilima said Friday. Chilima also told a news conference that at least 153 people are missing. Speaking after flying in a military helicopter over the worst affected Lower Shire districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa in the south, he said the country faced “a big challenge”. Earlier, disaster officials warned that more heavy rain was expected. The floods, which have wreaked havoc on half the the country’s 28 districts, have disrupted power supplies, plunging some areas into darkness.

The government is urging people living in flood-prone districts to urgently relocate to upland areas to avoid losing more lives.

Paul Chiunguzeni, principal secretary for Disaster Management Affairs

About 1,180 flood victims stranded on patches of high ground had been evacuated since rescue missions with military helicopters and boats were launched Thursday. In a statement Friday, African Union chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said the organisation would give the “highest priority to providing modest humanitarian assistance” to Malawi “as soon as possible”. The country’s sole electricity provider Escom lost 35 percent of its power after shutting down two of its five power stations located on Shire River after they were damaged by floodwaters. The government has also warned of the impact the floods will have on health services, fearing the spread of water-borne diseases.

The health care system will be disrupted as people will not get services and some might have lost their drugs such as ARVs. Children will not be vaccinated.

Malawi’s health ministry spokesman Henry Chimbali

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