Malawi: Heavy Rains, Floods Cause Havoc in Mchinji - Maize Gardens Affected

maize

Heavy rains which resulted in flush floods washed away crops and destroyed houses in Traditional Authority (T/A) Mlonyeni in Mchinji district on Monday.

The downpour has affected 960 families in Kaduwa, Kholoni, Lomani, Menyani, Mbwauka, Kaombe, Mkandamoto and Ng'omayalila villages.

"I am desperate and I don't know what to do. I was relying on the crops to fend for my family needs and now I am shattered," said Moses Phiri, one of the affected people.

The floods have also washed away bridges, making the worst disaster the area has experienced in years.

Mchinji district disaster desk officer Kingsley Chioko said Kachebere and Mwenda rivers brought water into Bua River which led to the floods.

"The problem is that Bua River silted up as people used to cultivate along it. Due to heavy rains it swelled and burst, causing the floods," he said.

Chioko said 1 080 hectares and hundreds of bags of maize and fertiliser and livestock have been washed away.

Mchinji South West Constituency member of Parliament (MP) Deus Gumba (Malawi Congress Party-MCP) has asked government and well-wishers to help the affected people.