It’s been a whirlwind of a week. A giant tropical storm slammed the southern region of Malawi a few days ago with multiple feet of rainfall in 2-3 days. Considering homes and buildings are made of sandy mud bricks around here, lots of rain can weaken these walls and cause walls and entire structures to collapse. Thankfully I was not in my village when the storm hit (I was staying with a friend who knew the storm was on its way), so I was safe. I watched the storm bend palm trees and flop big branches from the safely of a large front porch that overlooked the tea estates. The rain came in waves usually of ridiculously hard rapping on the roof to light drizzling, and we had phases of thunder and lightning. One thing was for sure though—it didn’t stop raining for three days straight. The only discomfort I experienced though was temperamental electricity (which didn’t bother me since I’m used to not having it anyway). Besides that, I spent four days working on lesson plans for programs in my community and playing with the two dogs at the house. Although I am not sure of the current status of my mud brick home since I haven’t been back to my village since the heavy rains, my counterpart checked on it for me and everything seems to be okay from the outside.
Some of our peace corps volunteers weren’t so lucky though. One had his wall collapse on him while he was sleeping, others had latrines and store rooms collapse, others had their homes flooded or walls waterlogged. Compared to locals though, our houses faired well. In a lot of districts, collapsed houses were so common that churches, schools, or any building on higher ground became refugee locations for now homeless people. I think the current estimate is 70,000 people displaced. A mini bus trying to cross a rushing river slipped into the water, and the bus is still MIA; just the driver’s body was found. Today the Malawi president and USAID declared multiple regions in the South as “disaster zones,” so Peace Corps decided to evacuate us to a consolidation point. Apparently there are more storms on their way even though today was absolutely gorgeous with blue skies, warm weather, and a cool breeze. On the transport to our consolidation point, we passed fields of flooded crops, homes with walls that were now heaps of crumbled bricks and tin roofs that had crashed down through the rooms, and gushing rivers that are normally small streams. When I called my counterpart to inform him that I would not be returning to the village today, he told me that three people had gotten swept away into the river that runs down by the health center. Our programs for the week would have to be postponed because people in the village were too busy preparing for funerals and repairing their homes. The estimate as of now for deaths as a result of this storm is 48 people. It’s completely eye-opening and shocking to see how this heavy rainfall can create literal disaster zones for such impoverished people who already don't have a lot. And the effects will be felt for a while. Not only will people need to rebuild houses, but they will need to replant crops in order to have enough food for the year. The president is calling for foreign help, but with Malawi’s aid history of the cashgate scandal last year, who knows if anyone will answer.
For now, all we can hope for is positive thoughts and vibes to be sent to these kind, giving people here in the warm heart of Africa. (And that the heavy storm rains don't return!)
(Thanks Bob Phillips for the image!)