Coming back to Malawi on Tuesday I found that I was returning to a disaster zone. Torrential rains had caused flooding in most of the southern region of the country. My district of Mulanje was one of the worst hit areas. Water levels of rivers have risen and ruined houses and crops. Flash floods have injured and killed many people, bridges have become impassable, and many houses have been destroyed.
The flooding started around Monday as I was on a plane flying back. Peace corps took immediate action to keep all of us safe. Volunteers living in the affected areas were immediately evacuated to the nearest safe city. I landed on Tuesday and didn't know anything about what was happening. I got on a bus and planned to head back home. Luckily, before the bus left, I got a call from the peace corps safety and security officer telling me to get off the bus and that I had to stay in the capital for a while. I've been here 5 days and hopefully I will get to go home in 3. It's difficult knowing that while I am safe and dry here in Lilongwe thousands of Malawians are struggling without homes or food. I've heard from my counterpart who said my village has sustained some damage to houses and bridges. Some people were washed away in the Ruo river near my house. But everyone I know seems to be safe. I will continue to write more as I find out information and when I get back to my village to see how it fared. Please keep Malawi in your thoughts and prayers as we are continuing to deal with this disaster and the many issues that may come from it.
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