Floods kill 6, displace 17,000 in Northern Malawi

Six people have been confirmed dead and 17,000 have been rendered homeless in Malawi's northern city of Mzuzu following a continuous down-pour that lasted for over a week, authorities confirmed.

Reports say the rain destroyed over 1,000 houses, and apart from claiming six lives, 10 people were injured.

Malawi Vice President, Saulos Chilima, who is also minister of Disaster and Management Affairs, Tuesday toured the affected areas and the people most of whom were camped in church buildings and school classrooms.

Most of the affected areas are low-lying and not recommendable for housing according to Mzuzu City Council authorities.

Speaking to the displaced people before distributing food and relief items, Chilima expressed concern about the disaster and he conveyed condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.

Chilima further urged the people to desist from settling in flood-prone areas saying "it is not realistic that every year we should be facing similar disasters that can be avoided if all the people relocate to upland".

Floods killed over 200 people in 2015 most of them from the southern region along the Shire Valley.

The 2015 floods also destroyed crops leaving over 2.8 million people in dire need of food, and over three hundred thousand people displaced.

However, although Mzuzu was one of the areas affected by the 2015 floods, this is first time for the city to face floods of such magnitude. Enditem