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Floods displace thousands

    JOHANNESBURG

    Over 21,000 people have been forced to seek shelter in temporary accommodation after heavy rains and floods destroyed households in 90 villages across southern Malawi.

    An official of the Department for Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation in the capital, Lilongwe, told IRIN on Tuesday that 420 households had been flooded in Chikwawa, 2,000 in Phalombe, 156 in Machinga, 60 in Zomba and 1,704 the Mulanje district.

    “All the people have been accommodated in schools and temporary shelters and have been assisted with food items as well as non-food items like blankets and plastic sheeting,” the official said.

    She added that pit latrines had also been washed away, increasing the risk of cholera that has already claimed scores of lives in the affected areas.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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