Malawi floods cause havoc
2006-03-09 22:58
Blantyre -About 2 000 people have lost their homes after floods hit central Malawi.
Many of the homeless took shelter in churches, mosques and schools, after severe storms lashed the area, a government official said on Thursday.
The latest flooding came just a few days after heavy rains in the south left 6 000 homeless, destroyed crops and washed away bridges and roads.
"Heavy rains fell for several hours on Tuesday night, causing a number of rivers to burst their banks," said Hebert Manthalu, the disaster management officer for the district of Salima, located some 100km east of the capital Lilongwe.
About 400 families were displaced and about 130 houses destroyed. Flood victims were sheltering in churches, mosques and schools, Manthalu said.
Livestock and about some 50 hectares of maize were lost in the flooding, caused by swollen rivers including the Linthipe, which flows into Lake Malawi, Africa's third largest freshwater lake.
The Salima district is one of the worst affected by Malawi's food shortages.
A heavy downpour at the weekend also left 6 000 homeless in the southern Mangochi region, cutting off access to Monkey Bay, Malawi's best known resort.
- SAPA