Malanje- Around a thousand people are without shelter as a result of heavy rains that destroyed 120 precariously built houses, in recent days, in the village of Utende, in the municipality of Cangandala, northern Malanje province.
In addition, many assets of the affected families were buried and damaged, causing more than 100 children to abandon classes due to the lack of teaching materials and clothing.
Meanwhile, the vice-governor of Malanje for the Political, Social and Economic sector, Franco Mufinda, visited the site today to see the conditions to which the affected households are subjected, highlighting that the assessment carried out by the Provincial Civil Protection Commission concluded that that the accidents did not occur only due to the rain, but because the houses were built in a swampy and risky area.
He explained that as a result, residents should leave the area and stay in family homes or other safer locations, while they wait for an immediate measure from the government regarding the delivery of subdivided land for self-construction.
He made it known that the situation is also observed in other municipalities in the province, which is why the government is working to provide safe responses to this problem.
In turn, the municipal administrator of Cangandala, Dilangue Baião, made it known that in addition to these, other houses are at risk of collapsing, and are built in risk areas.
He added that the problem of floods in the aforementioned locality has been occurring since November 2023, highlighting that in addition to evacuation, the victims will receive zinc sheets, used clothes, medicines and above all food, as they also have their fields flooded.
Meanwhile, traditional authorities and the Utende Residents' Committee are calling for urgent support from the government, mainly to allow children to return to schools.
The town of Utende is a village in the municipal seat of Cangandala, which has a predominantly peasant population estimated at more than a thousand inhabitants. NC/PBC/DOJ
