By Lusekero Mhango
Malawi vice president Dr. Salos Chilima whose also the minister responsible for disaster management affairs on Wednesday toured areas and visited flood victims in karonga amid calls for relocation to upper grounds.
The heavy rains which fell last week in the district has claimed 3 lives and has left over 810 families destitute.
Speaking at Kasanta an area where the floods has left over 300 families homeless in Traditional Authority Kilipola the vice president, said the government is deeply saddened by the loss of lives and the devastations that the floods have caused.
He said, government has pledged its total support to flood affected victims who may face food shortage as a result of the floods. Saying no one will die of hunger.
“We are ready to support where necessary and I urge those who will handle distribution of relief items to distribute to those badly affected by the floods and for the victims to use the items for their intended purposes,” he said.
According to the vice president, the only way recurrence of floods can be avoided is if people are relocated to upper grounds.
“As government working with relevant authorities to relocate households who reside in lower grounds as experience has shown these people are the most vulnerable when it comes to floods,” Chilima said.
In his remarks Paramount Kyungu has appealed for people in the district to plant more trees as a way of reducing and minimizing such disasters in the future.
However karonga district commissioner Richard hara disclosed that the numbers of people who have been affected is expected to rise as the verification team is still on the ground in communities assessing the damage.