Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) says since the start of the rainy season in October 2023 to date, disasters have claimed 17 lives and left 69 people with injuries due to stormy rains accompanied by strong winds, floods, and lightning.
In a press statement signed by the Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs at DoDMA, Charles Kalemba, the disasters have affected 16, 299 households which is approximately 73,345 people.
According to Kalemba, the department has currently reached out to 16,299 households, representing 100 percent of the total number of the affected with food and non-food items, which include maize, beans, blankets, pails, and plastic sheets.
He added that they have received fresh reports of flood disasters from Mzimba and Karonga Districts and are making arrangements to provide relief assistance to the affected.
The department is however in the process of decommissioning camps hosting about 10,000 people displaced by floods in Nkhotakota and Karonga districts.
Meanwhile, DoDMA, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WHO), has distributed other items including maize, maize flour, beans, cooking oil, and corn-soy blend in camps as part of the return package while the shelter cluster is finalizing works for the provision of shelter following decommissioning of camps.
The department has therefore assured to inform the general public regarding the status of disasters and any related developments.
