Malawi Emergency Situation Report No. 15: A Report Many Never Bothered to See---and Read!

MALAWI: Recently, the Department of Disaster Management Agency (DoDMA) in Malawi, in collaboration with the country’s humanitarian partners, released a report that, if read soberly, would send chills down the spins of many, because it paints a grim picture of the devastation wrought by Tropical Storm ANA.

The report says that, as of 15 February 2022, 16 districts and two cities had been impacted with approximately 994,967 people affected by the floods. Close to 190,429 are displaced and sheltering in IDP sites.

Reader, here are the highlights of the Tropical Storm ANA Department of Disaster Management Affairs Situation Report, which classified the impact according to sectors. (Take note that our aim is to deliberately highlight the magnitude of the problem, while we acknowledge that the government and her partners are working hectically to salvage the situation, as pointed out in the last point. Also, we have included the original report for your attention)

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

The impact of the floods and heavy rains caused significant damage to houses in 16 councils in Malawi, the damage included partial and complete structural damage to houses. In addition, other houses were submerged in the flooded waters. As a result, people sought safety in schools, public buildings and higher grounds of which 178 camps are established with 190,429 households.

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

• 20 piped water supply systems and over 1,000 boreholes (300,000 people) have been damaged, contaminated or filled with silt.

• A total of 53,962 latrines have collapsed, while 337 boreholes, 206 water taps, and 8 gravity-fed water schemes have been damaged.

• 50% of Lingamasa Scheme in Mangochi has no water flowing.

EDUCATION

The tropical storm Ana affected 476 schools in 22 Education districts, namely, Nsanje, Chikwawa, Phalombe, Mulanje, Balaka, Mangochi, Thyolo, Chiradzulu, Machinga, Blantyre Rural, Blantyre Urban, Mwanza, Ntcheu, Dedza, Lilongwe Rural East, Lilongwe Rural West, Lilongwe Urban, Salima, Zomba Rural, Zomba Urban, Mchinji and Neno.

The effects were severe in six (7) Education districts (Nsanje, Chikwawa, Phalombe, Mulanje, Balaka, Mangochi and Zomba Rural) as compared to the other districts.

Consequently, 398,908 learners (201,135 boys and 197,773 girls) could not access learning at the time of assessment.

AGRICULTURE

71,716 hectares belonging to 91,016 households have severely been affected by the floods. Regarding livestock, 36,803 combined livestock species owned by 12,655 livestock keepers were either killed or injured by the floods. The impact also affected livestock housing structures leaving the surviving livestock without or with improper dwelling structures

PROTECTION

Access to protection, Early Childhood Development (ECD), Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and other essential services (social, legal, and security) has been disrupted due to damage to protection infrastructures (CVSU, PVSUs, community policing), road networks and human resources.

In addition, there is stress among the protection workforce due to increased workload. As a result, referral pathways and complaints and feedback mechanisms for reporting cases of violence have been greatly affected.

FOOD SECURITY

Availability of food at the household level was severely compromised as most of the affected population lost nearly all their food stock. The food security situation of internally displaced people (IDPs), including the affected population from Mozambique, is severely compromised.

Many of the people in the camps have little or no food to live on. A total of 215,572 households were affected translating to 982,162 people with 29,975 households (13,488 people) displaced.

The affected households have lost their livelihoods following the damage and wash away of crops and livestock which are the main sources of their living.

The situation is critical for people that are living in camps as they lost almost all their items more especially food. Furthermore, the households who are hosting their displaced relatives are under high pressure to provide the essential items more especially food.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

• 158 injuries, 20 missing and 37 deaths were registered.

NUTRITION

An estimated 131,144 children under-five; 39,083 pregnant and lactating women (PLWs) have been affected. A total 3,348 under-five children and about 1,000 PLWs have been displaced from their homes and are living in camps.

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

• Key roads and bridges and culverts across the affected districts are hardly accessible or Sections on 7 main tarmac roads, 10 secondary roads and numerous tertiary and district roads got washed away making most of the affected areas including evacuation camps inaccessible by road.

• Power transmission lines (132KV and 66KV), distribution infrastructure (poles, broken jumpers and conductors) and generation stations were damaged which led to reduced power generation from 385.8 MW to 194 MW. Most parts of the country including those affected by the tropical storm which had no power supply has been restored with load shedding.

• Poor Mobile network reception due to disrupted power supply.

• Insufficient storage options, particularly in remote areas.

• Lack of consolidated logistics information and coordination efforts.

• Poor road access is negatively impacting movement of supplies into the affected areas

HEALTH

In the southern region, initially all facilities were affected by power cuts resulting in either loss of vaccines or some essential medicines requiring refrigeration, medical equipment and other supplies. Infrastructure damage in health is minimal, however flood and wind damage to some facilities require repairs in the short term.

All populations in the southern region affected by then floods are at risk of water borne diseases including cholera and other disease outbreaks such as measles, eye infections, typhoid, skin conditions and Malaria, but especially the 221 127 HHs estimated to be living in camps where hygiene sanitation and water are a huge challenge.

Though statis health facilities are functional the forced displacement of large populations into camp areas has resulted in lack of access to basic essential health services.

Pregnant women, children under five, especially under nourished and malnourished children, the elderly and those living with chronic diseases are particularly at risk of getting sick.

There are an estimated 5,313 pregnant women who are internally displaced and residing in camps who will require delivery kits and other reproductive health services for women of childbearing age will include family planning, dignity kits, and post-abortion care.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

The Department of Disaster Management of Affairs (DoDMA) is coordinating the response. The department established an emergency operation centre in Blantyre to coordinate response to the Tropical Storm Ana.

A three-month (March-May 2022) response plan has been developed to guide coordinated response. In collaboration with the affected councils and humanitarian partners, the department has been providing life-saving assistance that includes food and non-food items in all the affected districts.