Take care of flood warning systems, people advisedKazizira

The Department of Water Resources has warned people in Lilongwe District against vandalising flood warning systems.

Speaking yesterday during awareness meetings held at Nathenje and Lumbadzi rivers monitoring stations, the department’s principal hydrologist Chikondi Mbemba said they want communities to know about the newly instituted hydrological data collection platforms installed in the rivers.

He said the equipment will help the department to collect accurate data for hydrological forecasts and impending floods warnings.

Said Mbemba: “The department has installed the platforms in 22 hydrological monitoring stations in the country.

“The platforms are strategically located for early flood warning and water level monitoring, so tampering with them will mean putting a lot of lives at risk.”

Group village head Kazizira from Traditional Authority Tsabango commended the department for the initiative.

He said it is an eye-opener as they did not know about the structures and how they operate.

“I will engage my subjects on the structures and ensure their safety,” he said.

The data collection platforms have been installed in 10 districts, namely Lilongwe, Kasungu, Salima, Nkhotakota, Nkhata Bay, Mzimba,Karonga, Chitipa, Mangochi and Zomba.

The data climate platforms were constructed through the Modernised Climate Information and Early Warning System Project under a partnership between Malawi Government and the United Nations Development Programme