Storm hits hard

Tropical Storm Gombe at the weekend hit hard parts of the Southern and Eastern regions, killing three people besides damaging road networks and other infrastructure, including electricity supply.

Phalombe, Machinga and Mulanje districts were the most affected by Tropical Storm Gombe which came before the country recovered from Tropical Storm Ana that hit in late January.

Other districts such as Chikwawa, Thyolo and Nsanje were reported to be at high risk of potential floods due to a rise in volumes of water in major rivers. In Blantyre, electricity poles and trees were also seen fallen on sidewalks.

Phalombe district commissioner (DC) Rodrick Mateauma said in a telephone interview of Sunday the damage caused by Tropical Storm Gombe was more extensive compared to that inflicted by Tropical Storm Ana.

He said: “Although I cannot give figures as we are yet to make assessments, I can say that we have been badly affected this time around. For example, in Traditional Authority [TA] Jenala, the whole area is flooded.

“The Jali-Phalombe road has been cut off at Mwanga and along the Chilinga-Muloza Road, there is also another bridge at Thambe which has been washed away. So, the damage is severe.”

Mateauma said as at midday of Sunday , scores of people were moving to evacuation centres to seek shelter.

He said there was also a possibility of part of the Ruo River flooding.

In a separate telephone interview, Machinga District disaster risk management officer Carol Chabwera confirmed about the three deaths, but said she could not give an assessment of the extent of damage caused.

On his part, Mulanje DC Stallic Mwambiwa said in an interview that floods have occurred in TAs Ndanga, Juma and Nkanda.

He said some areas were unreachable as of Sunday, making it difficult to undertake an assessment of the situation.

“But we are trying our best to reach all areas that have been affected so that we assist,” said Mwambiwa.

He said as of Sunday noon, people in other areas were moving into schools to seek shelter.

Mwambiwa also confirmed reports that Thuchila Bridge at Nkando Trading Centre on the Robert Mugabe Highway, also known as Midima Road, was flooded. He said motorists were advised to use alternative routes.

In a separate interview, Thyolo DC Douglas Moffat said while Thunga Dam overflowed on Saturday due to the heavy rainfall, the situation was under control as of on Sunday.

However, he said the district was still at risk of flooding as of Sunday.

The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) on Friday deployed a joint search and rescue team in Chikwawa and Nsanje comprising the Malawi Defence Force (MDF), Malawi Police Service and Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) officers.

Dodma commissioner Charles Kalemba said in a statement that the joint rescue team is also prepositioning and stockpiling relief items in strategic places to ease provision of relief assistance in districts at risk of being affected by the cyclone.

“The team is expected to work with search and rescue teams at district level to provide life-saving interventions in all districts at risk of being affected by cyclone,” he said.

When asked about the situation in the Shire Valley, Chikwawa District relief and rehabilitation officer Humphrey Magalasi said there were no incidents reported as of Sunday despite the heavy downpour.

He said: “Of course, the water level in the Shire have gone up but not to the extent that we are expecting floods. Apart from that, there have been no reports of any damages caused.”

In a separate interview, Nsanje District disaster risk management officer Robert Zingani said as of on Sunday, they had not reported any disaster cases.

But he said volumes of water in rivers, including part of the Ruo, had risen.

Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) spokesperson Moses Gwaza asked for more time when asked about the impact of the storm on electricity generation while Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) public relations manager Innocent Chitosi could not be reached.

As of noon on Sunday, weather models by Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services indicated that though weak, would continue bringing torrential rains in the Southern Region, but will lessen by this afternoon.Gombe,

The tropical storm has also killed at least seven people since making a landfall early Friday morning in Mozambique.

It comes two barely months after another cyclone, Tropical Storm Ana caused havoc in the Shire Valley, causing floods which killed 46, affected 995 072 people and 221 127 households.