Nsanje Flood Survivors Sound SOS

Some flood survivors in Nsanje have dared authorities to swiftly come to their rescue by providing them food stuffs and inputs for winter cropping, saying they are facing acute food shortages.

One of the survivors, Edina Fote, 42, from Group Village Headman Mtemangawa, Traditional Authority Malemia in the district, claims she only got support once; a bag of maize and maize flour weighing 25 kilograms.

Edina, a mother of four, who was hit by tropical storm-Gombe induced floods, has described her journey to recovery as rough, saying floods have yet again damaged her crops in wetlands.

"The situation is tough, they decommissioned the camps but the support they have provided has not been sufficient to cushion our shocks.

"I have not received anything of late. So far I have only accessed humanitarian support once, a bag of maize and a bag of maize flour weighing 25 kilograms," lamented Edina.

She added, "may the authorities act now, I lost almost everything to the floods, I am struggling to recover."

Malemia Area Development Committee Chairperson, Mathias Chilumba, echoed Edina's sentiments, saying, "the need for support is huge."

Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, Charles Kalemba, told Zodiak Online, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) was waiting for a report from Malawi Vulnerability Assessment (MVAC) for action.

"The report is now out and we are working on coming up with a response plan before rolling out various recovery interventions, possibly to start from September.

"We have two response scenarios; the first one we would utilize the money that came through the insurance cover that government got a payout and so we are going to provide food stuffs but also provide inputs for winter cropping,” explained Kalemba.

He added, "the second one is the actual MVAC response which starts in October with either cash transfers or provision of food."

The Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, further said they are also promoting irrigation farming in which they are enhancing the ability to produce on their own.

Tropical Storms-Ana and Gombe induced floods, rendered thousands of people in the Shire Valley homeless.

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