Tropical Storm Ana slams Zambia

By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) - Tropical Storm Ana, which has ravaged most southern African nations, has reached Zambia, with the country’s meteorological department on Monday forecasting continued heavy rainfall.

Zambia has recorded torrential rains since the weekend, with around 1,000 families displaced in the capital Lusaka alone.

The Zambia Meteorological Department has warned that the country is expected to continue experiencing torrential rains nationwide as the storm hovers around it.

“Areas (of Zambia) that are near Angola are bound to have these effects as the winds of the storm passing through Zambia are rushing and feeding into its low pressure,” meteorologist Bathsheba Musonda told reporters in Lusaka.

Zambia has a population of over 19 million spread across the country’s 10 provinces and the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) under the office of deputy president Mutale Nalumango has already started aiding flood victims with relief food.

The army is also evacuating citizens in valley areas to higher ground for safety.

No deaths have been recorded so far as a result of the storm.

Gabriel Pollen, a national coordinator for the DMMU, said the government is already stressed with the intensity and frequency of disasters due to climate change, of which Ana was a case and factor, which is adversely affecting the weather pattern.

“In as much as the government is doing everything possible to help all citizens affected by disasters, there is a need for concerted efforts from stakeholders to ensure that the lives of people affected by disasters are restored,” he recently told reporters.