Dowa hit by heavy rains

Hundreds of people in Nyongo Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Chiwere in Dowa have been displaced after heavy rains blew off roofs leaving some houses demolished early last week.

Group village head (GVH) Nyongo said the heavy rains were accompanied by strong winds.

He said: “As I was trying to check outside to see where the noise was coming from, I saw iron sheets from my house being blown off. I quickly called my family outside and we stood outside soaking in the rains.”

Nyongo said most people now have no shelter and struggling to access food since most their savings will be reinvested in renovating their houses.

A local non-governmental organisation(NGO) implementing its projects in the area, Mponela Aids and Counselling Centre (Maicc), organised a field visit to the area to assess the effects on the households, most of whom are beneficiaries of the projects.

Maicc’s programmes manager George Kaunda said 78 households have been affected in GVH Nyongo alone with about 12 houses completely demolished.n