Malawi – Deadly Floods in Northern Region

Local media in Malawi are reporting that flooding in the far north of the country has left at least one person dead and several families displaced.

Flooding struck in Karonga District in the Northern Region of Malawi. The district runs along Lake Malawi and the country’s northern border with Tanzania.

According to Malawi 24, “Karonga District Commissioner (DC) Richard Hara said the incident happened in the morning hours in the area of Group Village Headman Mwenelupembe, Traditional Authority Kyungu in the district following the heavy rains that ended up flooding Bwaye River.”

Homes and crops have suffered damaged. Full damage assessments are yet to be carried out.

Rainfall

Rainfall figures for the area are unavailable. Nkhata Bay, in Northern Region, some 200km south of Karonga, recorded 43.7 mm of rain in 24 hours to 31 January 2018.

Across Lake Malawi, around 300km east of Karonga, Songea in Tanzania recorded 41.0 mm in 24 hours to 29 January.

Previous Floods

Karonga district was hit by flooding in April last year, when at least 4 people died, 5,520 households were affected and about 1075 hectares of crops fields, including rice, maize and cassava, were damaged.

Similar floods occurred in Northern Region, including Karonga, in April 2016. At least 12 people died and 9,000 were displaced.

Flooding in Karonga, Malawi, April 2017. Photo: Government of Malawi

Flood Summary

Last updated: February 15, 2018

Event

Northern, Central and Southern Regions, Malawi, February 2018

Date

January 31, 2018

Type

Flash flood, River flood

Cause

Extreme rainfall

Heavy rain at the end of January 2018 caused flooding on 31 January in Karonga District in the Northern Region. After a short respite, further heavy rain caused flooding once again in Karonga on 07 February. Heavy rain also affected other areas of the country during this time, including Salima District in Central Region and on 09 February, Phalombe in Southern Region.