Gift of the Givers representative in Malawi, Sherifa Mia says more help is needed for the country, after the devastating tropical storm, Freddy, struck the country earlier this week. Mia says more than 300 people have so died following the mudslides.
President Lazarus Chakwera has declared the devastation that Freddy has caused in Malawi as a national tragedy.
Soldiers have joined rescue operations and have been rummaging through debris in search of victims swept by mudslides and floods. The Zambian government has provided two aircraft to help in rescue and distribution of relief aid to victims in areas where many people are still trapped. More than 200 people have been declared missing by the authorities. Aid agencies, who are still battling to access some of the worst affected areas due to damaged roads and infrastructure, are warning that the devastation will exacerbate a cholera outbreak.
Mia says parts of the country are still inaccessible.
“We have the UN agencies we have international organisations, but the devastation is just so huge that still a lot of people thousands and thousands of people haven’t been reached. We were out distributing food to camps in rural areas and they were actually shocked to see us because nobody has been to see them, to give them any help. The rain stopped two days now where in some areas its not raining, but other areas is still raining, so still accessibility is a problem, a lot of roads have been cut off.”
Malawi Gift of the Givers country representative Sherifa Mia:
