Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




SHAKE AND BLOW
Malawi flood survivors cry out for aid
By Felix MPONDA
Nsanje, Malawi (AFP) Jan 19, 2015


Frantic scenes greeted a military helicopter as it landed to deliver aid in a village after severe floods left 176 people dead and 200,000 homeless across Malawi.

Flood survivors, sheltered in a local school in the village of Chimbulika in the far south of Malawi, rushed to get their hands on food and supplies as the chopper neared the schoolyard.

"It's a great relief to hear that sound of the helicopter because we know it is bringing food," said 58-year-old Modesta Basikolo as she made her way through the crowd of about 1,000 people.

Chimbulika is located in the worst-hit district of Nsanje which has been turned into a land of islands and lakes, with scores of people stranded on small patches of dry land.

These areas are now reachable only by helicopter or four-wheel drive vehicles.

The chopper made two turns, delivering blankets and a total of 80 bags of flour -- but that only amounted to one plate per family.

It was not enough, said Basikolo, who chairs a village protection committee that is settling the survivors at the schoolyard camp.

The government and aid groups have been "too slow to respond with relief items and food to this emergency," she said.

"The people are barely surviving," Basikolo said. "It's tough here."

"Can one helicopter bring enough food for everyone here?"

Rice farmer Matemba Bauleni, 63, was rescued with his two grandchildren by boat.

"We are begging the government to treat this as an emergency. We have not eaten for several days since we were rescued."

In the village, where classrooms have been turned into a temporary shelter, survivors have no cooking utensils, firewood or running water. They sleep on cement floors and use pit latrines that have been dug outside.

Paul Puleni, a medical activity manager for Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) -- which has set up mobile clinics in the area -- said there was "a need for good sanitation in terms of clean and safe water".

"We anticipate outbreaks as a result of the floods, so health education is important because one case of measles equals an outbreak," he told AFP.

- 'It was hell' -

The survivors share their horror stories of the sudden torrent of water and the stream of floating bodies that followed.

"I could not believe what I saw," said fisherman Jossam Mangawe, 44. "I am still haunted by this."

Eliza Gift, 21, said Malawi had seen floods before, "but this time around, it was hell".

"Within an hour, the whole area where there were villages, our gardens and schools became a lake. We saw people being swept away as I, my husband and child, clung to a tree for two days."

She said her husband pleaded with private boat owners -- who are charging up to $10 to rescue stranded people, a small fortune in a region where many work as subsistence farmers and fishermen -- to evacuate them and pay them later when they find money.

"There are still people stranded out there on higher places, but these boat owners want money upfront. It's a desperate situation," she said.

With four schools in the area turned into camps and another four under water, classes have been cancelled.

"We have nothing," said Bright Chipojola, headmaster of one of the flooded schools. "We lost everything. The schools lost everything."

He pointed to a lake in the distance where his school buildings used to be: "Until Monday last week, there was no lake."

Fisherman Medison Manuel, 28, said his boat was swept away by the floods.

"With that boat gone, my life is in tatters. I don't know how I will survive from now on."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SHAKE AND BLOW
Floods kill 71 in Mozambique: disaster management
Maputo (AFP) Jan 19, 2015
The death toll from flooding in parts of Mozambique has risen to 71, the country's disaster management services said Monday. "From the data collected up to last night (Sunday), the provisional toll of victims has risen to 71 since January 12," National Institute of Disaster Management spokeswoman Rita Almeida told AFP. Most of those killed were from Zambezia province in the centre of the ... read more


SHAKE AND BLOW
Pope euphoria quickly fades in Philippine typhoon zone

Pope attracts world-record crowd in wet Philippines

Tugboat sinking in China kills 22 including 8 foreigners

Can quake-hit Haiti manufacture itself a hi-tech future?

SHAKE AND BLOW
Japan researchers target 3D-printed body parts

Laser-generated surface structures create extremely water-repellent metals

New laser-patterning technique turns metals into supermaterials

Integrating with multiferroic materials and devices silicon chips

SHAKE AND BLOW
Atmospheric rivers, aerosol particles, and California reservoirs

Biggest fish in the ocean receives international protection

Wildlife loss in the global ocean

For sea turtles, there's no place like magnetic home

SHAKE AND BLOW
Giant atmospheric rivers add mass to Antarctica's ice sheet

Canada to stage helicopter wolf hunt to save caribou

Chinese company takes over Greenland mine project

Sea Shepherd in epic chase of Antarctic 'poaching' ship

SHAKE AND BLOW
Transgenic crops: Multiple toxins not a panacea for pest control

Antiquity of dairying on Emerald Isle revealed

More birds culled as Taiwan battles worst avian flu in 10 years

China's aquaculture sector could rebalance global fish supplies

SHAKE AND BLOW
Tongan volcano creates new island: officials

Six perish as tropical storm lashes Madagascar

Rescuing farmland after a flood

Floods kill 71 in Mozambique: disaster management

SHAKE AND BLOW
Chad army vehicles head for Cameroon to fight Boko Haram

Ugandan LRA rebel commander to be tried at ICC, army says

Bashir riding high at launch of Sudan re-election bid

African moon bid seeks boost for spacecraft blast off

SHAKE AND BLOW
Did the Anthropocene begin with the nuclear age?

Success at work influenced by personality of your spouse

Stress and social media: it's complicated

World's oldest butchering tools gave evolutionary edge to speech




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.