Khalika settlement in Soche Hill is not traceable on your official map, but it is a famous danger zone in Chilobwe Township, Blantyre. On the southern margins of Blantyre City, tongues still wag about the death of over 100 people on March 11 2023 when Cyclone Freddy dumped flashfloods and mudslides in steep slopes. John Suwedi has lived on the landslide-prone hillside since 1981.
Locals call him Mr Khalika, a living encyclopaedia of the community’s transformation from an informal settlement in a protected forest to a storied disaster zone with massive rocks hanging loosely over homes under reconstruction. From scarred valleys to scattered rocks, Freddy’s trail of destruction has defied unhurried reconstruction. Three years on, the battered hills, valleys and floodplains have not recovered yet.
“The eroded slopes and temporary homes offer little hope and protection against the next storm,” says Suwedi. “When we see large dark clouds, we know the sky is moody again. We stay awake, waiting to hear if the hill would move again.” The old-timer stutters in low tones when giving flashbacks of the rainstorm that claimed 679 lives, with 530 still missing.
[paywall]
The World Meteorological Organisation estimates that the cyclone unleashed six months rainfall in just six days. Today, storm clouds trigger fear and deathly memories of the relentless torrents that soaked Soche Hill three years ago, leaving rocks and mud pounding homes downhill. “There was nowhere to run and Suwedi lost 18 neighbours,” says the old-timer.
He was speaking in a shadow of a boulder that supposedly crashed his neighbour and his entire family. His neighbour Laudon Mkandawire says: “We are ready to vacate this place. “Authorities think that we are resisting, yet the government has not fulfilled its promises to identify safe land for us.” The cyclone relegated Khalika to a temporary settlement with no water taps or boreholes. The locals fetch water from streams opened by Cyclone Freddy in valleys and footpaths that split the community.
[/paywall]
All Zim News – Bringing you the latest news and updates.
