Malawians feel Tropical Cyclone Ana impacts

Malawians yesterday started feeling the impact of Tropical Cyclone Ana as the country experienced nationwide power outage following downpours that have been hit parts of the Southern Region since Sunday.

In a statement issued last evening, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi said the outage follows an emergency shutdown of Nkula B Hydro-Power Station in Neno due to accumulation of debris resulting from incessant rains the country is experiencing.

Reads the statement in part: “We regret to inform all our valued customers that there has been a system shutdown resulting in power outage in most parts of the country.

“Our engineers are doing everything possible to restore power supply within the shortest time possible. We shall avail our customers with regular updates. We apologise sincerely for any inconvenience the situation is causing.”

In a separate statement signed by Ministry of Education Principal Secretary Chikondano Mussa all schools in the Southern Region have been temporarily suspended due to the Tropical Cyclone Ana warning issued by the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services.

Reads the statement in part: “For those in boarding schools, students should stay indoors. This is a measure to preserve life.”

Writing on Facebook earlier, Electricity Generation Company said it was experiencing flash floods in its power stations, a situation that forced it to shut down some machines to protect the intake structures from damage.

The Nation spot-checks found that the most hard hit districts include Chikwawa, Mulanje, Thyolo, Blantyre and Chiradzulu.

Some people have been rendered homeless after their houses collapsed while others sustained different injuries.

In an interview last night, Chikwawa district commissioner Ali Phiri said preliminary reports show that all the families in Tsapa Village in Traditional Authority Makhuwira and Mthumba area between traditional authorities Katunga and Kasisi in the district have evacuated following floods.

He said as at 10pm, the M1 section between Thabwa and Dyeratu in the district is impassable.

Phiri said: “So many places here in Chikwawa have been affected, but we are yet to assess the extent of the damages.”

He said following the warning by Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services on Tropical Cyclone Ana, the council conducted sensitisation campaigns warning communities to relocate to the uplands.