Floods hit Nkhotakota, Karonga, displace thousands

Five people have sustained injuries in the wake of floods that have caused extensive damage in Nkhotakota and Karonga districts where thousands of people have been rendered homeless.

In Nkhotakota, 500 households are displaced, especially around Dwangwa area while in Karonga 619 households have been affected following flash floods caused by incessant rains since last weekend.

As of yesterday, heavily flooded areas in Nkhotakota included those downstream Dwangwa River, villages around Bua River in group village head (GVH) Mvula in Traditional Authority (T/A) Mphonde and places around Kaombe River.

In an interview, Nkhotakota Disaster Risk Management officer George Zibophe said rescue teams were dispatched to Ngalatete Village in GVH Mvula, where unrecorded number of houses have collapsed.

By press time at 8pm, about 300 people had been rescued from the area.

An estimated 50 hectares of maize, rice and cassava fields has also been submerged across the affected areas.

Zibophe said emergency squads were also dispatched to Dwangwa Trading Centre which was surrounded by water, rendering the M5 impassable. However, the rescue efforts were not flat-out due to the high water.

He said: “Seven engine boats have been dispatched to Ngalatete Village and two boats to Dwangwa Trading Centre. Our priority now is to rescue people who are trapped in various places and cannot escape using road transport.

“About 10 people who were critically trapped at Dwangwa have been rescued.”

Nkhotakota district commissioner Ben Tonho said the road was impassable at Kaombe and Dwangwa rivers and Nkomwa area where, in all three places, bridges were submerged in water.

He said warnings of floods were sent to the vulnerable places and were currently being extended to other areas within range of the hazard.

Tonho said a situation report has been sent to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), but they were yet to get help.

Nkhotakota North parliamentarian Henry Chimunthu Banda described the situation as dire, saying the destruction was massive.

He said the impact of the flash floods was also worse in Nkhotakota North East and Central constituencies. He added that the rushing Bua River waters stormed Nkhotakota with force.

Chimunthu Banda, a former Speaker of Parliament, said: “As things are, the most efficient mode of rescue is through helicopters which Dodma does not have.

“We do not know what will happen because the Dodma officials here also cannot access the affected areas. But thanks to Illovo Sugar for helping us with 100 litres of fuel to be used by the boats.”

In a statement released yesterday afternoon, Dodma commissioner Charles Kalemba said they were working with the Nkhotakota District Council in deploying search and rescue teams.

He said their teams would conduct rapid assessments and provide basic needs to affected communities.

In Karonga, water from the swelling North Rukuru River damaged 619 households in T/A Kyungu.

According to a Dodma report, out of the affected 619 households,  one person is injured, 38 houses are completely damaged, 109 are partially damaged while 472 houses have water running through them.

Of the affected, 128 households have been sheltered at Kambwe Noil and Zindi African Church evacuation centres.

The commission further revealed that the situation in the district poses a threat of outbreaks with cases of transmissible diseases including cholera and conjunctivitis already under observation.

Dodma has since provided maize, maize flour, beans, pails, blankets and plastic sheets to the affected communities.

On January 9 2024, Dodma indicated that disasters had affected about 21 379 people since October 2023 and five people were reported killed by lightning.

According to Dodma figures, since the onset of the rain season, the number of people affected by disasters stood at 22 450 by February 2, in 20 affected districts.