Floods cause havoc in Karonga: kill one

Floods killed one person, displaced families and destroyed hectares of crops in Karonga district on Wednesday.

Karonga District Commissioner (DC) Richard Hara said the incident happened in the morning hours in the area of Group Village Headman Mwenelupembe, Traditional Authority Kyungu in the district following the heavy rains that ended up flooding Bwaye River.

He said the district’s natural disaster office is assessing the families affected and hectares of crops destroyed.

The DC identified the deceased as Blessings Mwalwanda, 11, who hailed from group village headman Mwenelupembe in the area of Traditional Authority Kyungu.

Concurring with Hara, Member of Parliament (MP) for the area Frank Mwenefumbo called for an immediate assistance from government and well-wishers in terms of temporary accommodation, food and health services.

Mwenefumbo said the affected community needs strong attention from the health officials to prevent the spread of cholera outbreak which has already hit the district.

Meanwhile, officials from the district council have appealed to people living around the flood prone areas to relocate to upper land.

Karonga is one of the flood prone districts in the country. Last year, thousands of families were affected by floods. The floods also destroyed crops and hundreds of livestock.