BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—As Malawi is in the rainy season, the government has deployed Malawi Defence Force (MDF) rescue team to Nsanje district in Preparation for flooding.
The Lower Shire, the large valley in the South whose two districts are Chikwawa and Nsanje, are the most flood-prone areas of the country.
The rescue team has been deployed following the forecast by the Department of Meteorological Services and Climate Change that rains will be above normal in the country.
Nsanje District Commissioner (DC) Gift Rapozo confirmed the development with the local media, saying the officers arrived on Monday.
“Let me confirm that MDF rescue team under Marine Department has been deployed in the district. They have come with equipment, including two dingy boats, one rubber boat and 40 life jackets which are being positioned in strategic centres like Nsanje, Bangula and Makhanga. They comprise seven officers including skippers, divers, safety officers and engineers,” he said as quoted by the Nation Newspaper.
Rapozo commended the department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) for effective response to the potential flooding.
Dodma spokesperson Jeremiah Mphande said it is government’s wish to ensure that this year’s disaster response is done effectively, hence, the deployment of MDF rescue teams in the Lower Shire district.
He added that government has put on standby helicopters at MDF camp in Blantyre where an emergency centre has been instituted ready for any occurrence.
In January last year, the country experienced one of the worst flooding disasters in recent history killing 176 people and displacing 200 000 others, with Nsanje and Chikwawa districts being the worst affected.
