Poor road conditions in Nkhotakota have delayed the delivery of relief food and non-food items to flood-affected areas in the district.
Nkhotakota district disaster risk management officer Rhomatchinga Nkhata said the situation has forced the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) to procure some relief items locally while waiting for the roads to be repaired.
She said: “Roads are still impassable, making it difficult for vehicles to come through and dispatch relief goods.
“This time we are procuring relief food locally for the affected people to survive.”
Nkhata said that some of the goods purchased include flour, beans, cooking materials, blankets and other necessities to sustain daily life.
Repair works on washed-away sections of the M5 have been delayed due to unfavourable ground conditions caused by high water levels, according to Roads Authority chief executive officer Engineer Ammiel Champiti.
The situation remains unchanged despite Champiti visiting Wozi and other sites where he assured the authority’s commitment to urgently restore access on the road.
Said Champiti: “Conditions still remain unsafe to start repair works on damaged sections such as Dwangwa, Ling’ona, Kaombe, Nchandilo and Luluzi bridges.
“Comprehensive assessments will be conducted once ground conditions improve.”
However, he said the authority prioritised Nkhufi Road to maintain temporary connectivity between Nkhotakota and Kasungu, adding that further assessments revealed that damages at Bauti Trading Centre, Kasamba Bridge and Wozi will require extensive repairs.
Champiti stressed that contractors CR20 and China Civil Engineering have already mobilised equipment and have begun works in some sections, to support connectivity.
A traveller Jessie Maoni, from Dwangwa, in the district asked authorities to carry rehabilitation works quickly.
“We are spending more money to young people who are helping us cross rivers along the damaged sections,” she said.
The death toll from the flooding disaster has arisen to eight in the district.
Dodma has set up 13 camps for affected people in the district.
