Devastation and disease after deadly Malawi floods

Tens of thousands stranded after southern Africa country's record floods face rising risk of disease outbreak.

Nsanje, Malawi - The most devastating floods in living memory have stranded at least 20,000 people in southern Malawi with disease now threatening to inflict further suffering. When the rains began in Nsanje province on January 11, a 20-kilometre-long vein of cropland on the east bank of the Shire River was overwhelmed, destroying resources needed to sustain the population for a year.

In just three days of rain, the land was transformed into an archipelago. As the waters rose to depths of three to four metres, people climbed hills and shinned up trees to save themselves. Many of them were killed.

"It erased everything in its path," says Amaury Gregoire, head of mission in Malawi for Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has sent a team to the region. "It erased entire villages. All the crops were completely destroyed." 

Unidentified and unreachable, it was more than two weeks before the first food aid reached the stranded population in Nsanje. Many are still without basic items essential for survival.

More rain has been forecast, meaning the region is likely to be inaccessible by road for weeks to come, perhaps months.