People flee homes to escape floodwaters in Malawi

PanARMENIAN.Net - About 5,000 people have fled their homes to escape floodwaters in southern Malawi, due to heavy rains from a deadly cyclone that is battering neighboring Mozambique, authorities said Wednesday.

Army helicopters and motorboats were deployed to the southern district of Nsanje, along the Mozambican border, to rescue marooned villagers.

Nsanje has been "receiving heavy rains since mid-last week which has resulted in two big rivers to break their banks and flood scores of villages," district commissioner Rodney Simwaka told AFP by telephone.

The Shire River, which flows out of Lake Malawi, and the Ruo, which originates from the picturesque Mulanje Mountain, have flooded following heavy rains caused by Cyclone Funso, a powerful Category 4 storm moving slowly through the Mozambican Channel.

Simwaka said about 2,500 villagers fled to hills when the floods hit homes along the rivers. "Several thousands of people are still marooned in dry patches of land in the flooded villages," he said.

No deaths were reported, but hundreds of hectares of the maize fields were under water and scores of cattle, goats and chickens had been washed away, he added, AFP reported.

It’s worth mentioning that Armenia and Malawi have recently established diplomatic relations.

Armenia hopes to open its doors to Malawi tour operators to visit the Asian country, specifically century-old monasteries and other touristic resorts, while Malawi is keenly looking forward to explore opportunities that exist of its tobacco and other agricultural products.