After devastating floods in Malawi, the international development agency Christian Aid is working with its local partners to provide immediate help. Over half a million people have been displaced and 500 have died after Malawi had a year’s worth of rain in four weeks. Blaming climate change, President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi has said that nearly half of his country has been damaged by Cyclone Freddy.
Torrential rain, floods, and landslides have caused widespread damage with homes damaged or destroyed as well as the loss of life. Roads and bridges have been washed away, cutting off communities and making relief efforts more difficult.
Along with damaged homes, schools in the affected southern areas have been closed as classrooms are unsafe or being used to provide emergency shelter for displaced families. There is an increased risk of malaria and cholera in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
Luke Thieu, Christian Aid Country Director, said: “The impact of this cyclone on families has been crushing coming after a severe cholera outbreak. We are funding our local partners to distribute water treatment kits to prevent disease spreading.“
As well as water containers and temporary toilets, Christian Aid is spending £200k on special food for mothers and babies, mosquito nets to protect against malaria, and cash for families to spend on their essential needs that also help support the local economy.
Coming during Malawi’s growing season, the storm couldn’t have come at a worse time for farmers. Many crops in the affected areas like maize, pigeon peas, beans, tobacco, and sorghum have been ruined, meaning the risk of hunger as many households will not have enough food to harvest.
Susan Chimbayo from the Nandolo Farmers Association said: “This year we worked tirelessly to have bumper yields as we were told that we could export to India. This was a motivating factor for many farmers under the network and we distributed lots of seeds the fields looked so promising that we will get bumper harvests, but alas, many of our fields have been washed away, taking away the hopes that we had for the year.”
With support, farmers hope to bounce back using resilient pigeon peas and winter crop planting where possible. Scientists warn that manmade climate change is heating ocean temperatures which makes hurricanes and cyclones more destructive. Impacts like these are why Christian Aid is calling for Loss and Damage compensation funds to be urgently made available to communities that are on the front lines of the climate crisis.
