Period covered under by this update: 9 Februray 2012 to 4 May 2012.

Summary: CHF 275’993 was officially allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 9 February 2012 to support the Malawi Red Cross Society in delivering immediate assistance to 6,159 beneficiaries. Un earmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged.

The operation was initially planned to be implemented over three months, 9 February to 9 May 2012. However Malawi Red Cross is seeking an extension for an additional month (until 9 June 2012) to allow for relocation of communities at risk to relocate to safer areas, away from flood prone areas, where relief assistance will be provided.

The heavy rains that were experienced in Traditional Authority Mlolo in Nsanje District from 22 January 2012 resulted in floods where an initial estimated 6,159 people (about 1,235 households) were affected. The floods affected educational, agricultural and religious facilities as well. The MRCS applied for a DREF allocation following the Nsanje floods amounting to CHF 275,993. This request was approved on 9 February 2012 for a three month period. While the initial flood situation normalised, further rains in the same area during 23 and 25 March 2012 caused flooding and affected an additional 151 households. A verification exercise was conducted to ascertain the additional number of households that have been affected.

The people that were at Bangula camp have now returned to their homes in GVH Kalonga, Mchacha, James and Sambani.

The cholera situation has been contained in Chikhwawa and Nsanje districts considering that number of cases have dropped. However the story is different in other districts like Blantyre, Thyolo and Chiradzulu where cases have increased.

This DREF operation is expected to be implemented over 4 months, and will therefore now be completed by 9 June 2012; a Final Report will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by 9 September 2012).

The Belgian and Canadian Red Cross Societies and Governments contributed to the DREF in replenishment of the allocation made for this operation. The major donors and partners of DREF include the Red Cross Societies and governments of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the U.S.A., as well as DG-ECHO, the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), the Medtronic and Z Zurich Foundations and other corporate and private donors. The IFRC, on behalf of the National Society, thanks all for their generous contributions.