Blantyre - Flooding sparked by heavy rains has killed 48 people and displaced nearly 70 000 others in Malawi, local media reported Wednesday, prompting calls on donors to resume aid they had suspended over corruption.
President Peter Mutharika declared a third of the southern African country a disaster zone on Tuesday.
Floods have hit the south the hardest, with officials saying many of the victims died in Mangochi district, 100 kilometres south of the commercial capital Blantyre.
The rail company Central East African Railways said it had suspended all passenger trains due to the washing away of some bridges and tracks.
Mutharika launched an urgent appeal for foreign aid, saying tents and food were urgently needed.
“Infrastructure like roads and bridges have been affected and crops washed away. I call for the assistance of civil society, private sector as well donor agencies and United Nations,” the president said.
“This is a national disaster. It is almost impossible for Malawi to handle this all alone,” Billy Banda of the civil society organization Malawi Watch told dpa.
“We are asking donors to step in and rescue the situation,” he added.
Donors suspended aid making up about 40 per cent of Malawi's budget in 2013 over the so-called Cashgate scandal. About 70 civil servants, politicians and entrepreneurs are on trial on charges of having siphoned off at least 25 million dollars in government funds.
The Department of Meterological Services warned that more rains were expected.
The government had encouraged people to move away from flood-prone areas, but many feared that moving would prevent them from engaging in farming and fishing.
Sapa-dpa