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Description of the crisis
In January 2022, the Tropical Storm Ana weather system brought destruction and damage to most parts of the country especially within the southern region. The impact of tropical storm Ana brought subsequent flooding and resulted in an estimated 945,728 people needing humanitarian assistance and protection. Initially, and as of 8 February 2022, the Government of Malawi estimated that 46 people were reported dead, 18 missing, 206 injured and 221,127 households (more than 945,728 people) were affected. Swollen rivers drowned livestock and submerged fields destroying the livelihoods of rural families. At least 115,388 hectares of crops were destroyed. Over 228 schools had their blocks destroyed rendering over 114,218 learners without learning materials and facilities. Furthermore, access to some of the affected areas remained a big challenge as many of the roads were damaged and to date, some remain in bad condition.
The displaced populations, over 67,800 households, were relocated to 217 camps in Chikwawa, Zomba, Phalombe,
Mulanje, Nneno, Mangochi, and Nsanje districts. The Government embarked on a process of decommissioning camps after a joint monitoring visit to the camps during the month of April 2022. The monitoring visit indicated that most of the camps were decommissioned in some affected districts except in Nsanje and Chikwawa where about 1200 households were still in camps waiting to relocate to other new places.
Due to the magnitude of the impact and subsequent disaster events, most vulnerable people were victims of storms and epidemic outbreaks and are still struggling to recover from this shock although a smaller number of the affected households have managed to relocate to higher and safe areas. The intensity of the impact has been aggravated by outbreak of Polio, Cholera and continued socio-economic impacts of COVID 19 across the country. Before the end of this Appeal, Malawi was once again hit by a more severe, Cyclone Freddy, in early March 2023.
The MRCS continues to help communities recover from TS Ana 2022, Cyclone Freddy of 2023 and the cholera outbreak: