By George Mponda

Karonga, May 11, Mana: Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) disbursed cash on Friday to 724 households which were affected by floods in Karonga.

In an interview, Emergency Operations Coordinator for MRCS, Lewis Solomon, said some households received K250,000 for shelter rehabilitation while others got K150,000 for buying basic needs.

"Karonga District Council did assessments which revealed that close to 1,700 households were in dire need of assistance due to floods.

“We therefore secured over K900 million through our partner, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which has also been used to support disaster survivors in Lilongwe, Nkhotakota and Kasungu," Solomon said.

He said the payments are once-off, adding that the organization is running a complementary intervention in water and sanitation and has been working with the district health office to conduct health promotions in the targeted areas.

According to Solomon, the intervention has been ongoing for three months and it will end in June but all activities are being conducted concurrently to make sure they are delivering comprehensive support.

"We have also intergrated issues to do with protection, gender and inclusion as well as accountability in the disbursement process and I would like to urge the beneficiaries to use the funds for their intended purpose," he explained.

Meteorological Officer at Karonga District Council, Victor Phiri, said heavy rains which fell in the district since February caused floods which affected many households.

"We had one-week continuous rainfall which caused flooding and 833 households were affected in the areas of Senior Chiefs Kilipula and Mwakaboko while in Rukuru catchment, 911 households were affected with some displaced," Phiri said.

One of the beneficiaries, Christina Gowere from Kalongera Village in the area of Senior Chief Kilipula, said she was grateful for the support, as she had lost property and livestock due to floods.