At least 10 dead as heavy rains devastate central, southern Malawi

MANGOCHI, Malawi, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Heavy rains have devastated central and southern regions of Malawi since Tuesday with at least ten people dead and thousands displaced.

Malawi's government is yet to release the overall consolidated report on the damage but Xinhua has confirmed six deaths in the southern district of Chikwawa and at least four in the lakeshore district of Mangochi.

Five of the six people who have died in Chikwawa were washed away by floods after dam collapses took place in two rivers in the district while one woman died after a wall in her house collapsed on her, said the district's spokesperson Foster Benjamin.

In Mangochi, preliminary assessment of the disaster recorded four deaths involving two women and two children who died separately from wall collapses in their respective villages.

"We have received reports of four deaths due to collapsing walls of houses and we have also received reports of bridges having been washed away due to flooding rivers," Mangochi district Commissioner Moses Chimphepo said Thursday afternoon.

"The main challenge is that we have health centers along the roads where the bridges have been washed away and this will make the delivery of our healthy services difficult since no ambulance or any vehicle can pass through," Chimphepo said.

Meanwhile, the country's meteorological department has warned of continued downpour in most parts of central and southern regions until Friday afternoon.