Heavy storms and flooding displaced hundreds of villagers this week in two drought-stricken southern Malawi districts, officials said on Saturday.
Two tributaries of the Shire River burst their banks in Nsanje, flooding five villages, District Commissioner Tobby Solomoni said.
Goats and cattle were swept away and 130 houses destroyed, he said.
Authorities in flood-prone, low-lying areas have been encouraging people to move to higher ground, but residents have ignored their pleas because of the rich farmland there, Solomoni said.
In the lake-shore district of Mangochi, hundreds of people were left homeless after a heavy rain storm on Thursday night blew off roofs, said district official Harry Chipeni. Several people were injured by falling walls and flying sheets of corrugated iron.
The heavy rain has, however, raised hopes that Malawi could experience a bumper harvest after four years of food shortages.
”I have toured a number of districts and the crop is promising,” Deputy Agriculture Minister Henri Mumba said. ”We hope next year we will no longer be talking about hunger.”
Malawi is one of six Southern African countries suffering acute food shortages brought on by erratic rains and a devastating Aids epidemic that is destroying the agricultural work force. At least 10-million people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe are in urgent need of help, according to United Nations figures.
In Malawi, where persistent dry spells at the height of the last planting season cut production of the maize staple by 24%, up to five million people are threatened with hunger. — Sapa-AP