By Isaac Salima:
Preliminary reports indicate that Tropical Cyclone Jude has affected 169 households in Mulanje District.
The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) has indicated, in a statement signed by its commissioner Charles Kalemba, that the affected families are from Traditional Authority Nkanda in the Southern Region district.
“A team from the council has been deployed to conduct further assessments and verifications as the department makes arrangements for provision of relief assistance,” Kalemba says.
Dodma further says districts in the Southern Region have been experiencing rains, with the highest amount of 81 millimetres recorded at Chididi in the Shire Valley district of Nsanje.
That means many districts in southern Malawi, where the storm was expected to hit, could have escaped the effects after the cyclone weakened Tuesday.
The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services indicated that the cyclone made landfall in Malawi through Phalombe District.
“The storm reduced its intensity when it was approaching Malawi. As a result, the impact has been minimised. There are chances that it may start going southwards and there are chances that it may intensify in the next 24 hours,” Met Director Lucy Mtilatila said.
She urged people to continue being watchful.
“The cyclone is still in the country but with reduced speed. So, we may still experience rainfall and people have to be careful,” she said.
The cyclone was expected to affect 13 districts in the Southern Region.
As a precautionary measure, the Ministry of Education suspended classes in districts that were to be affected by the storm.
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