This follows a near tragedy when three days ago after a day of non-stop down pour, close to a 150 people got trapped on the island which was all surrounded by water.

Most of the people have now been moved to a camp around the same area but they insist on being moved upland as even the camp itself is not safe.

One of the survivors, Hastings Mausa, told Zodiak Online Sunday is that they hoped to be moved away for now and they “would come back later for their usual business.

“We are currently somewhere not where we were trapped. We are getting support from government like food stuff. We had lost all hope. We never thought we would ever escape the danger. All we need now is transport to move out of here,” he said.

Another survivor, Alinafe Phiri, also told Zodiak Online, “When the water arrived, lives were in danger. Most affected being children and women. We now need transport to move upland for now,” Phiri said.

The people on Kakuyu Island are rice farmers hence the insistence or returning after the water subsides.

Chief Risk and Rehabilitation Officer at DODMA, Fyawupi Mwafongo, said the department is working on making sure that the affected people are safe.

Mwafongo observes that this is not the first time people have been trapped on this farming island and that it is now becoming dangerous to lives.

“All we are asking them to do is that this should only be a farm land. Not for settlement,” he said.

Over the weekend, DODMA was in the area to make available food supplies.

The floods affected 900 households leaving 338 households homeless and destitute.