Number of affected people rising as rain continues

As rain continues to pound southern Malawi, local government officials have appealed for relief assistance, including food aid for people made homeless by flooding. Heavy rain since mid-December has caused flooding along at least six rivers - the Shire, Ruo, Nyamazire, Lalanje, Mwanza and Kombezi - in the southern districts of the country. Around 8,000 households in Chikwawa district have been affected, while 4,500 people were left homeless in Nsanje district, according to local authorities. "The number of homeless has doubled since the beginning of the week from 2,000 - people in some areas are seeking refuge in trees," Toby Solomon, Nsanje's district commissioner told IRIN. He said the district had received some food, clothing and utensils from the Malawian government, "but we need maize, pulses and oil, as the need has increased". Harrison Lende, Chikwawa's district commissioner, said most of the people affected had managed to reach places of safety or were staying with relatives. But almost 4,000 ha of maize, cotton and sorghum crops, planted only last month, have been flooded. "Everything has been completely destroyed," he noted. Amos Zaindi of the Irish NGO, GOAL, based in Nsanje, told IRIN that although flooding was seasonal, "it is much more serious than last year and we are getting concerned that if the rains continue, Nsanje could get cut off from the rest of Malawi". GOAL, which distributes food on behalf of the UN's World Food Programme in the district, has been forced to seek alternative routes to reach the needy. All roads and bridges in the north of the district along the Shire river have been washed away, said Zaindi. "The rains were supposed to start in November. It only began raining in December and now the rains are expected to continue through to January and maybe even February. People had already planted - now everything is destroyed," commented Zaindi. In the 36 worst affected villages in northern Nsanje, more than 1,000 ha of cultivated land have been flooded. In neighbouring Chikwawa, 50 percent of the land has been flooded, said Lende. People had received plastic sheeting and some food aid, "but we need more food, blankets and clothing," he added. Zaindi underlined the need for supplies of drinking water over the next few days to prevent an outbreak of waterborne diseases like cholera. "People do not have clean water to drink, as all the boreholes in the area have also been flooded." Most of Malawi is reeling from the impact of four consecutive years of drought. Food aid agencies have estimated that nearly five million Malawians will need food assistance until April.