By Mary Makhiringa – MANA
Hailstorm on Saturday night displaced 188 people and injured two in the area of Sub Traditional Authority Kachenga in Balaka.
A report compiled Sunday by members of the District Civil Protection Committee (DCPC) has revealed that out of the 188 affected, 63 per cent had their houses completely down while 37 per cent had theirs partially damaged.
“A number of households have found shelter from their relatives’ and neighbours’ houses but many are living in bad shelter around their damaged houses.
“In some households, food was completely damaged while other households had no food at all before the disaster,” the report reads in part.
The report further says four villages have been affected with 95 male headed families and 93 headed families.
“Two girls were injured and received treatment at Kapire Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) health facility. They have since been discharged,” reads another part of the report.
In an interview, Balaka District Commissioner, McCloud Kadammanja described the disaster as sad and called for well-wishers to come forward and assist the council by reaching out to the affected.
“We are calling upon well-wishers to help us as the affected need food and to bring back their shelter and other necessities,” he said.
He added: “As we are approaching the rainy season, these disasters cannot be ruled out, we should be ready and put our house together so that we serve the communities well.”
Last week, Balaka District Council formulated a District Disaster Resilience Plan whose goal is to help when disasters strike.
