Dodma donates to flood victims in karonga

Department of Disaster Management Afairs (DODMA) on Thursday distributed relief items to over 473 households hit by floods in some parts of Karonga District.

The donation which included a 50-kilogram bag of maze, 10 metres of plastic sheets and plates followed heavy rains that fell last week on December 30 which has so far affected over 1000 households at Mweneyumba and Zinde in the area of Traditional Authority Kyungu.

Speaking in an interview Relief and Rehabilitation Officer for Karonga District Council Shepard Jeri, said DODMA through the council deemed it necessary to donate the items considering the gravity of the damage the floods have caused the area and the families.
Further saying the assistance will go a long way in cautioning the effects of the devastation that families experienced.

“We know there are a multitude of victims out there that need urgent attention and support hence the assistance which we believe will make a significant impact one way or another,” he explained.

Jeri has since disclosed plans to engage chiefs in an effort to identify land that will be allocated to communities residing in the flood prone areas to relocate to upland in order to prevent and protect further disasters from happening.

One of the beneficiaries Lindsey Mwangonde of Mwanyongo village in TA Kyungu, expressed gratitude for the assistance as she recalled the night of December 30th as she was awoken by raging water that made there way to her house.

“I never anticipated that we would be receiving the donation its like a dream come true hence I can now smile,” she articulated.

On his part Chairperson for Mpande Area Civil Protection Committee (ACPC) Advocate Mbale, appealed for further assistance in farming inputs as many families have lost all of their crops that they had planted a situation which further threaten food security in their households and the district.