Faith Nyasuguta
Following the landfall of tropical storm Ana on January 24 that damaged Malawi’s Chikwawa dam, the nation’s main power station has stopped operating.
The nation bordering Zambia is expected to go through six months of power cuts, according to the national electricity company Egenco.
Over 90 people died in the storm across southern Africa
“The impact that we have experienced here because of Cyclone Ana is that we have lost the dam here because the control mechanism that we had to take the water to the intake of the machines has been destroyed,” Willy Liabunya, the Egenco CEO said.
Adding, “We had the training dyke and that has been washed away.”
Power stays were mostly cut, leaving many parts of the country in darkness following torrents of water-carrying debris that has choked turbines in most hydropower stations – many of which are located along the Shire river.
“For the temporary structure that we want to put up and quickly restore the power generation, we are looking at six months as the time that we will require, but that has to be verified by the consultant as he finishes the expert analysis of the work,” added Liabunya.
According to authorities, over 100 people were reported to have sustained serious injuries in 15 districts after more than seven days of heavy rains.
The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) has confirmed that over 200,000 people from 48,000 households have been affected while many have been displaced and left homeless.
Recent Comments