Ministries of Basic and Secondary Education as well as Higher Education have temporarily suspended classes in 16 districts that will be affected by Tropical Storm Jude.
The two ministries issued separate statements yesterday following a warning by the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services indicating that the the storm is expected to develop into a cyclone and directly trigger heavy rains and strong winds in Malawi’s 16 districts from today.
The statements, signed by principal secretaries Rachel Chimbwete Phiri and Levis Eneya, say there will be no classes from today up to Thursday as a precautionary measure.
Reads part of the statement signed by Chimbwete Phiri: “The temporary suspension of classes is a precautionary measure to ensure safety of learners and teachers.”
The districts include Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Dedza, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje, Mwanza, Neno, Nsanje, Ntcheu, Phalombe, Salima, Thyolo and Zomba.
Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) in a statement also released yesterday signed by commissioner for disaster management affairs Charles Kalemba states that the department was treating the warning with urgency.
Kalemba said Dodma has since activated all sector working groups and made standby arrangements for the deployment of a search and rescue team.
The search and rescue team comprises Malawi Defence Force, Malawi Police Service, Marine Department and Malawi Red Cross Society.
“The department, through the Public Communication and Publicity Cluster, is also working with DCCMS and councils in disseminating early warning messages and raise awareness on the looming cyclone,” reads the statement in part.
In an interview yesterday, Blantyre City Council chief executive officer Denis Chinseu and Phalombe district commissioner Douglas Moffat said they had already started sensitising people in disaster-prone areas to move to safe places.
Moffat said his council has also advised farmers to harvest their maize as soon as possible. He expressed fear that some farm fields may be washed away by floods induced by Tropical Storm Jude, a development that may worsen the hunger situation in the district.
Said Douglas: “So we are talking about maize, which is about to dry or can be dried out in the sun, but also the maize that is very close to river banks. People must take these messages seriously because we are not threatening them, but we are just providing the necessary information.”
