BLANTYRE, Malawi, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-three people have been confirmed dead in 13 southern Malawi districts following severe flooding resulting from heavy rains accompanied by strong winds.

In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining said the figures are from preliminary reports collected from various districts including Blantyre.

The rainstorm has resulted in severe flooring in most parts of the southern region with people missing and others confirmed dead.

"The department has deployed search and rescue teams in collaboration with the Malawi Defence Force, Malawi Police Service and Malawi Red Cross to help in the rescue operation," the statement said.

The department has also deployed 23 trucks of relief items to be distributed in the affected districts, it said.

The Electricity Generation Company has had to cut power generation as a preventive measure against damage to its power generation infrastructure.

Power generation has been reduced to around 270 megawatts (MW) from 320MW.

"We have stopped all machines at major power stations [like] Nkula and Kapichira due to flooding and excessive debris at the power stations," a statement released by the company said.

A low pressure system moved into southern Malawi on March 6, according to the department, causing continuous wide-spread rains accompanied by strong wind.

Jolamu Nkhokwe, Director of Climate Change and Meteorological Services at the Ministry, said Friday that the low pressure area has greatly impacted on Malawi and Mozambique over the past few days, adding that the heavy rains are forecast to weaken on March 9.

He however warned that rainfall activities are expected to increase in central and northern areas of Malawi due to the presence of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)