Malawi: State of emergency declared

Bakili Muluzi, the President of Malawi, has declared the State of Emergency after floods followed a period of drought, devastating vast areas of the country, leaving hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation.

Crops have virtually been wiped out in six of the country’s 28 districts and thousands of people have been forced to take temporary shelter in churches, schools and even in open fields.

After touring the area by helicopter, the President declared that “This is a natural disaster of gigantic proportions”, while aid programme director Lucius Chikuni stated that the problem was far worse than it had originally been calculated because several rivers had burst their banks.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru

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