Chitipa District Council has said that human activities along river banks contributed to the flood disaster that occured in Karonga recently.
The council’s director of planning and development Jossen Tembo said most people cultivate along river banks in the district which results in surface water flowing downstream up to Karonga resulting in floods.
He was speaking on Monday during a meeting with Karonga District Disaster Risk Management Committee which visited the council on a learning visit to enhance collaboration between the two districts.
Said Tembo: “As a district council, we have a role to reduce the severity and impact of the disasters by intensifying awareness campaigns on the dangers of cultivating along the river banks for the safety of people in Karonga.”
He said human activities which are mostly environmentally unfriendly, have done more harm than good to the two districts and the country at large.
“Going forward, we want to strengthen local structures. This will involve revamping village and area risk disaster management committees, which are crucial in minimising disasters,” said Tembo.
Karonga district disaster risk management officer Humphrey Magalasi said the objective of the learning visit was to share experiences.
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