The washed away approach to Lifidzi Bridge
* The public is advised to use the M001 Road as an alternative between
* Motorists warned against using Monkey Bay turn-off road to Golomoti as it was impassable as of Thursday
* Main dirt road between Balaka Town and Utale Catholic Church Mission in Balaka South Constituency continue to be cut off
* After the Rivi Rivi River diverted and continued to eat away the embarked which originally was over half a kilometre away
By Duncan Mlanjira
The Roads Authority promises that the cut off M005 Road between Salima and Golomoti will be opened by end of Friday as a contractor is already on site reinstating Lifidzi Bridge, whose approach was washed away by heavy flow of rain water.
The public is thus advised to use the M001 Road as an alternative.
Meanwhile, a concerned citizen shared a video clip of the state of the road between Monkey Bay turn-off to Golomoti, warning that it was impassable as of Thursday — especially small cars.
The unnamed citizen said she was using a stronger raised-up car but still she had to hire locals there who jogged ahead of the car to lead her through the compromised stretch of the road.
The video clip was massively circulated on social media as others posted the state of the Lifidzi Bridge.
In Nkaya, Balaka South Constituency, the main dirt road between Balaka Town and Utale Catholic Church Mission all the way to Shire North, has been cut off after the Rivi Rivi River diverted and continued to eat away the embarked which originally was over half a kilometre away.
If the embankment would continue to fall away, a nearby Chipanga Village risked being washed away and can also compromise the railway from Limbe to Balaka.
An video clip update from Balaka South Constituency Development Fund chairperson for Phimbi, Kamtemba to the area’s Member of Parliament, indicates that the Rivi Rivi keeps rising from upland rains — threatening further destruction of crops along its route to the Shire River.
In an earlier interview, MP Mambala took the opportunity to highlight some of the challenges her constituents face every year when it rains that result in most roads become impassable.
She said the challenges are so huge such that the constituency development fund cannot sustain but needs special funding as properly planned projects.
The trouble spot a few days ago
The main road that has been cut off at Nkaya accesses people to the business hub of Balaka Town where they access health services at the district hospital.
She also said the Rivi Rivi cuts through Utale — demarcated into Utale 1 and Utale 2 — and when its floods school kids fail to attend classes year in and year out.
It also poses huge challenges for people to access social services in Utale 2 like the hospital, secondary school and the market during rainy season.
Mambala said there is urgent need to construct a bridge between Utale 1 and Utale 2 but the Constituency Development Fund cannot sustain such a project as the funds aren’t enough.
The Rivi Rivi is mostly an annual river but when it rains, it floods — thus rendering people on either side of Utale fail to connect each other for days on.
A weather forecast this week by the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services warned that the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone will continue influencing weather over Malawi — and thus the government warns people to be on high alert.
In a public warning from the Ministry of Water & Sanitation said effects of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone are causing heavy downpours over lakeshore and central areas and this weather pattern shows the rains picking up over the Southern Region.
The Ministry, through its Secretary Joseph Magwira warned on Tuesday of the possibility of flooding of most rivers in the southern areas of Balaka (Rivi Rivi, Liwaladzi and Mpale).
Central areas of Malawi that include Dwangwa, Fwambadzi, Lifyodzi Navikoko and Mkhula in Nkhotakota District while Machinga and Mangochi districts are also not spared through its rivers Likwenu, Naming’adzi and Simulu (Machinga) and Lingamasa (Mangochi).
Other rivers are Lingadzi, Linthipe and Lifidzi in Salima District and a number of low lying areas in lakeshore districts of Karonga, Rumphi, Nkhata Bay and Salima.
The Ministry warned the general public from settling in and cultivating along the said areas during the rain and crossing flooded rivers and streams as well as to keep paying attention to the continuously available weekly updates on floods.