Malawi floods displace thousands
02/01/2006 13:39  - (SA)  

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Food crisis looms in Malawi Malawi declared disaster area

Blantyre - Floods in Malawi have displaced at least 1 000 people and destroyed a much-needed maize crop in one of the areas worst hit by famine in the small southern African country, government officials said on Monday.

"The floods have swept away livestock, destroyed crops and damaged houses rendering 1 000 people homeless," Toby Solomon, southern Nsanje district commissioner, told AFP.

He said the floods were unleashed a week ago when the Ruo River burst its banks after heavy rains fell in many parts of the country.

The floods damaged large tracks of farming land in the south and destroyed different crops including knee-high fields of maize, Malawi's staple food, he added.

Up to five million of Malawi's 12 million people face hunger after the worst drought in over a decade, a situation aggravated by the HIV/Aids pandemic and drastically cut maize production, according to aid agencies.

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