Reaping the fruits of relocation

 For the first time in 42 years, Lucy Pandamale Simeon received Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services weather forecasts without a sense of trepidation.

“This is because 13 members of our family have, over the past 15 years, died due to floods-related problems. Some of them were washed away by floods while four drowned as they attempted to cross flooded rivers in their haste to move upland after floods warnings issued by the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services.

“The last incident, when we lost a member of the family, was on March 15, 2023, when Tropical Cyclone Freddy hit and destroyed houses, washed away some people as well as livestock. My distant cousin was among those washed away by the raging waters,” Pandamale Simeon said.

She used to be one of the residents of Makhanga, East Bank, in Nsanje District, where they were used to dancing to the rhythms of natural disasters such as floods.

“In that area [Makhanga], floods were a common occurrence. Every year, Dodma [Department of Disaster Management Affairs] officials could implore us to relocate upland, where we would not be susceptible to floods, but our answer was always ‘no’. To us, we could not abandon our relatives who were buried at Makhanga. We believed that the ancestors would protect us from calamities such as floods.

“However, the frequency of floods and other natural disasters started sparking questions in us. If our ancestors were that powerful, why were they not protecting us from floods? Why were our crops being washed away in the field, exposing us to hunger, year in year out?” Pandamale Simeon, who turned 42 years on March 26, 2026, queried.

She now attributes her decision to relocate from Makhanga to a new relocation site also named after Makhanga to that newfound line of thinking.

“For your information, one relative who was washed away by floods in 2023 is yet to be found. It is presumed that he is dead. He was 12 years old and we believe that the water current was too powerful for him. May Fred’s soul rest in peace,” she said, fighting back tears.

Today, at her new home—located some 30 kilometres from the original site where her father, mother, grandmother, grandfather and six of her relatives who were washed away by floods and found along the riverbanks—she shares jokes with neighbours, who have also made the decision to relocate.

Indeed, Village Headman Makhanga, who leads his people with compassion, is happy that the people accepted to relocate.

“We are free here. When rains fall, we even collect rainwater and use it for other domestic purposes, including washing utensils. We have the basic necessities we need, thanks to the government and its partners, who have drilled boreholes and helped construct durable houses for people who have relocated,” the traditional leader explained.

He said when his subjects were staying in floods-prone Makhanga, they were used to living a hand-to-mouth life as, “as soon as we accumulated wealth through farming, floods would come and wash everything away, thereby condemning us to a vicious cycle of poverty”.

According to non-State actor Concern Universal, which champions the fight against poverty, “the vicious cycle of poverty is a self-reinforcing loop where low income leads to low savings, low investment and low productivity, trapping individuals and societies in persistent poverty”.

Now under the new Makhanga Village’s conducive environment, residents claim that the mere decision to relocate has opened the floodgates of success, thereby putting them in a position to reduce poverty—for a long time the sub-theme to Malawi’s dominant theme of warm-heartedness.

Today, the residents are keen on acquiring a certain level of greatness by becoming richer and happier than those who stuck to the old Makhanga.

Despite life in the old habitant being grisly, the occupiers just seemed to be different: Traditionalists who were ready to die for the skeletons of those buried at graveyards that are strewn in the abandoned land.

Today, Pandamale Simeon and others’ decision to relocate has become a vindication that, sometimes, loyalty must not be blind.

After all, there are worlds one knows and worlds one creates.

Further back in the gloom stands a large hutch of clueless actors.

Other people who have relocated to other newfound places include Beatrice Patricio Gama, 41, who grew up in Sekeni Village, Senior Chief Lundu, in Chikwawa District.

“Sekeni is one of the areas that are affected by floods almost every year. Two years ago, I lost 15 goats, which I received under a pass-on programme that non-governmental organisation Bring It Up was implementing. The goats were washed away by floods.

“What prompted me to relocate is the fact that members of some households that were waiting for goats from me kept pestering me to source 15 goats wherever I could and ensure that they also benefit from the programme. This is despite that they, too, lost household property but nobody has forced them to replace the property they lost at gunpoint.

“I am glad that, after relocating to a new place, well-wishers have given me five goats, which I hope to raise. I am hopeful that, in the next three years, I will be in a position to pass over the goats to others,” she indicated.

Andrew Michael Mtambalika, 50, is another Malawian who, fed up with persistent floods, left familiar life in Namicheni Village, also under Senior Chief Lundu, to embrace the unknown that is life after relocation.

“I have been given land for crop cultivation and, this year, I expect to harvest over 50-kilogramme bags of maize and at least 30 bags of cotton weighing 50 kilogrammes each. I am happy with life here.

“I would like to urge those who are sticking to floods-prone areas to be openminded. There is life outside areas we are familiar with.  I wish each and everyone who stays in floods-prone areas in the Shire Valley takes heed of the government’s message to relocate to higher and safer places. Floods make planning difficult, which is why I am urging all Malawians who want to plan for the future to embrace disaster response mechanisms such as relocation,” he pointed.

On his part, Lundu explained that he encourages subjects who stay in floods-prone areas to relocate upland, saying no traditional leader worth his salt would be happy when subjects are being displaced or killed by floods.

“I am in full support of the government’s Relocation Policy. This is a good policy, especially for people of the Shire Valley, where the floods problem keeps recurring.

“I, therefore, encourage those that are susceptible to floods to seek safety first. I have also been telling traditional leaders who discourage their subjects from relocating simply because the traditional leaders are afraid of losing subject—through the reduction in the number of people they look after—that that is not a good reason to keep people stuck in a place where floods that kill them at any time. Let us value human lives. Let us value people’s property, including livestock, and that can only be done if people move out of floods-prone areas,” the traditional leader explained.

Recently, Dodma Principal Disaster Preparedness Officer Edwin Zawanda cited relocation as a significant long-term strategy for mitigating the impacts of perennial floods, including loss of lives and property, in such areas.
"That is why in districts such as Nsanje and Chikwawa, we have been moving people from disaster-prone areas to upper areas. Not only that, we are taking steps to sensitise community members, in terms of disasters preparedness.
"In addition to that, the new Disaster Risk Management Act also empowers Dodma to make sure that people move from disaster-prone areas to areas where they will be safe. As for those who are sticking to such areas [floods-prone areas], there are regulations that ensure that such people move from such areas," Zawanda said.
And, speaking with The Daily Times, Dodma spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula lauded progress that had been made in the relocation drive.

“The Department of Disaster Management Affairs has made tremendous progress in relocating people to safer places, thanks to well-coordinated efforts with communities, chiefs, councils and various partners. So far, we have relocated over 25,000 households to safer places since 2019, following damages caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai. The highest relocation programme was implemented in TA [Traditional Authority] Mlolo, where we moved over 15,000 households from the flood-prone area of Makhanga to Osiyana, a higher and safer place.  

“We are also ensuring that there is smooth resettlement by providing some social amenities. Makhanga CDSS [Community Day Secondary School] is now being housed at the newly constructed evacuation centre in Mchacha James Village, and we are also constructing the new Makhanga Primary School with funds from South Korea. We have also drilled boreholes and cleared roads in the areas,” Khamula indicated.

He added that partners have been forthcoming in the initiative.

“Our partners, such as Give Directly, have been providing funds to relocated communities for the construction of houses in the safer places.

“In addition, people are slowly realising the need for them to move to safer places. For example, Village Head Samson (Stemison Benard) of STA [Sub-Traditional Authority] Chiputula in Chikwawa sold part of his livestock and used the proceeds to procure land in GVH [Group Village Headman] Gambatula, where he located with his subjects,’ Khamula revealed.   

Indeed, some of the people who have relocated have been helped with access to power sources.

For instance, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has just handed over a solar mini-grid project to Chimphanda relocation site, which is under Traditional Authority Ngabu, in Chikwawa District. 

Phase one of the project has already connected 15 houses that belong to floods survivors, with plans underway to finalise the electrification process for other houses.

IOM Head of Programmes Alina Zalewski expressed hope that the electrification project would go a long way in improving the livelihoods of over 50 households that now call the site home.
And, as one way of promoting access to clean energy, the organisation has been providing clean-cooking stoves to those that have relocated to the site and other safer places.
“We support efforts to mitigate displacement risks. Climate change is affecting many people in Malawi and we aim to minimise [cases of] displacement. For those already displaced, we strive to help them in restoring their lives.
“The solar mini-grid project is a key component of this effort, providing clean energy and promoting sustainable livelihoods. We are working with Dodma to build resilience in Chikwawa and Malawi [as a whole], thereby ensuring that communities can withstand future cyclones and shocks," Zalewski said.
One of the survivors at the site, Mateyu Action, indicated that clean energy use was the way to go.

“IOM has been offering unwavering support to us since floods displaced most of us in areas under Traditional Authority Makhwira in 2015, providing vital relief items to date. The electrification project is a milestone towards uplifting our livelihoods. We are optimistic that it will boost our earnings, enabling us to run small-scale businesses that rely on electricity,” Action said.

He added that they were hopeful that the Shire Valley Transformation Project would help people access social amenities, thereby promoting economic and other activities.
Phase one of the project has seen 15 houses getting connected to the grid, with plans under way to commence phase two of the project.
There are over 50 households at the site, averaging about 200 people.

 

At centre of the storm

Malawi has, over the past 17 years, become inundated with storm and cyclone-induced disasters.

In March 2008, Malawi had a close call with a cyclone, namely Jokwe, which brought heavy rains that were accompanied by strong winds. With speeds of up to 105 metres per hour, it especially decimated property in some parts of Mozambique, with Malawi receiving some of the heavy winds and rains that accompanied it, albeit without registering cases of property damage.

If anything, it is Cyclone Funso, which made landfall in Malawi in January 2012 and induced floods that caused power outages, that made Malawians aware of the risk at hand; that is, increased vulnerability to cyclones.

The natural phenomenon was particularly noticeable because it had been two years since the last cyclone, namely Gelane, had been recorded in the region.

And, after a relatively calm period, the expected also happened in 2019 when, in March, Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall in the country. It induced heavy rains that were accompanied by heavy winds, culminating in landslides and, in some areas of the country, floods.

A month later, Cyclone Lorna hit, bringing winds that, in some cases, reached 130 kilometres per hour. Its defining features included flooding that culminated in damage to public roads, houses, crop fields. The floods also led to power outages and disrupted water supply systems, among other things.

Malawians, Nankhumwa inclusive, have also been witnesses to Tropical Storm Ana, which made landfall in the Southern African Development Community member state in January 2022 and affected some parts of central and southern Malawi.

As before, it left devastation in its wake, leaving 70-plus people dead, damaging crops, disrupting the provision of education services and leaving 945,728 people—especially those in the Shire Valley districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa, as well as other Southern Region districts of Phalombe, Mangochi and Mulanje—in dire need of relief items such as food and shelter.

In addition, Nankhumwa and many other Malawians have fond memories of Tropical Storm Ana, which impacted the country in January 2022, followed, in March of the same year, by Tropical Storm Ana, both of which brought heavy rains and strong winds that induced floods. Public facilities such as roads, houses, health centres, schools, among things, were destroyed.

Then, on March 11, 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy made landfall in Malawi—a country located in Southern Africa, east of Zambia, west and north of Mozambique—with a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment Report estimating that 225 people died, 109,625 hectares of crops for around 308,000 farming families getting washed away, with over 288,000 houses damaged and total damage and losses estimated at $220.2 million.

Freddy killed more than 225 people in Malawi and left thousands of homes in ruins. Many areas were flooded, sparking landslides and other calamities.

For those who have relocated to safer places, the hope is that they will embrace the future with hope, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 13, which promotes climate action.