Floods, Loss, and Preparedness

It’s rainy season again in Malawi. The time that we expect to celebrate the blessings of the rains and the possibility of a bumper harvest. However, the rainy season in Malawi, for the past five to 10 years, comes with news of loss and death due to floods in both urban and rural areas. Stories that start in November/December to somewhere in February/March almost every year. Just this December, six people have lost their lives due to floods that hit Lilongwe. There has also been loss of property, injuries and trauma for families that have been affected by floods. If the rains continue, there is a chance that we will hear a lot more cases of floods and the effects thereof in the usual flood prone areas that I believe by now we are all aware of those areas.

The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological department(MET) has just issued a warning that Malawi may experience more floods due to influx of the Congo air-mass. If my memory saves me well, this is not the first warning that was issued by MET department this year. I am sure that this warning has been issued to prevent any damage before the floods strike. What measures have been taken since February 2017 to ensure that we don’t have repeat of what happened earlier this year? What measures are currently being taken by both the government and every Malawian to ensure that the damage that will come due to floods is minimized? To what extent are we prepared to deal with the effects of the projected floods?

In February this year, Floods hit Ntandire, and areas 47, 49,36, 15, 18 and 25 in the Capital City, Lilongwe. The conversation around that time focused on how some of the houses that were affected by floods, were constructed in places that are not meant for any construction to take place. Construction of houses along streams or in places that used to be a route for a stream.  This leaves these areas to be a ticking bomb. What has been done since the February floods, to ensure that the said houses are not hit by floods again this year?

Unpopular measures, such as, forcing people to leave such areas is among the strategies that could be employed to ensure that we reduce the damage that comes with floods. I am aware that this route has been taken before, but has received some serious resistance. This resistance has come become of the following effects that come with migration: breaks families, cuts social and cultural ties, terminates dependable employment relationships, disrupts educational opportunities, and denies access to such vital necessities as food, shelter, and medicine. I am therefore aware that this would not be as simple. At the same time, I have seen the government and development partners discussing and agreeing on the migration of people in an area because there is a construction project that is to take place. Of course the process is not easy too, but it is not impossible.

I would also propose that as we assist victims of floods this year, that we focus on provide emotional support to flood victims. The victims of floods experience feelings of shock and distress that last far beyond the day of the disaster. The emotional toll that floods have on flood victims have a linkage with issues of mental health. It is only proper that flood victims receive the necessary emotional support beyond the supplies they have received or will be receiving soon.

I understand that floods are categorized as natural disasters. I, however, believe in Malawi, that we have to perceive it as both natural disaster and man-made disaster. When we look at floods as man-made disaster, we shall start implementing measures to ensure that the next rainy season does not have stories of loss of property and life.