THE relocation of more than 600 families from flooded areas in Lusaka's high-density townships to safer grounds behind the Independence Stadium has brought with it a string of social problems.

Apart from the emotional stress of living in flooded houses following a higher than normal rainfall that left a trail of destruction in several townships, those who have been evacuated to safety are now having to deal with the 'after shock'.

The families, now accommodated in temporary tents provided by the Red Cross Society, are suffering double for their trouble as some of the abandoned houses in the flooded townships are being vandalised.

Catherine Mutafwali, a mother of six says her future and that of her family is uncertain.

She is not sure, at all, whether she will have a home to return to in Chawama Township after July 1, this year when the temporary relief comes to an end.

"Tuletotela ba Government pa ku tuleta kuno pantu twalimubwafya sana. Twalelala ubwiminine na bana. Nomba ubwafyafye tukwete bwa amayanda eyo twashile ku Chawama. Tatwishibe nga fikaba shani nga yafika July 1 elyo tulingile ukubwelela ku mayanda yesu," she says in Bemba.

"We are thankful to Government for bringing us here because we used to sleep with the children while standing. The worry now is the houses we left in Chawama. We do not know how we will survive come July 1 when we are supposed to return to our homes."

Moments before the interview, Ms Mutafwali had received a report from her son that thieves were preying on the empty houses stealing roofing sheets and building blocks.

Naturally, the floods have disrupted people's daily lives.

A number of schools were shut at the height of the floods though Government made arrangements to extend the school term for the affected schools.

But for Yvonne Banda, her cry is to be able to continue going to school in any of the townships close to Independence Stadium.

"We have been here for more than a week and no arrangements have been made for school children.

Officials from the Red Cross have statistics of how many displaced school children there are," she says.

Fredrick Mukuwa, 33, is grateful to the Government for moving the families to a safer area but is worried for his two wives and four children and cannot imagine how they will rebuild their lives in three months.

He and his family were forced to sleep upright for several nights as the water levels rose in their home of many years in Kuku Township.

"My children were sleeping on tables and we could not sleep for fear of the children drowning in the house," says Mr Mukuwa who has been allocated two tents (number nine and 10) to accommodate his family.

His first wife Fediness Mutinta is also concerned about her children not going to school and has no idea about the state of the house they vacated.

"I think the best way is to give us an alternative flood-free land so that we can start a new life all over again.

"We are tired of these floods destroying our property," says her husband Mr Mukuwa.

He feels working on drainages in the flood-prone areas would not be enough because gullies had formed in a lot of places where quarrying activities were taking place.

Education Deputy Minister Clement Sinyinda said his ministry was aware of the plight of the displaced school going children and was doing everything possible to ensure the affected children were admitted in any nearby schools like in Matero Constituency.

Mr Sinyinda has since appealed to school authorities in the constituency to cooperate and admit the affected children.

"I know that finding places for these children may be challenging because most of these schools have no places.

But I want to urge all the school heads to admit these children coming from this place because it is not their fault that they are not in school. It is by an act of nature," he says.

For some, though, the flooding and subsequent evacuation has provided relief from paying house rent.

Charles Kaluba said his businesses had come to a standstill due to the flood and had not been able to raise money to meet the rental expenses.

Upon his return from China recently, President Rupiah Banda announced to the flood victims that Government had set aside about K11 billion to address the flood situation.

He said Government would decide what to use the funds for.

And responding to complaints about the July 1 deadline, Mr Banda said Government would reconsider the position in the event that the water logged areas did not dry up quickly.

Mr Banda praised the families for the understanding and challenged opposition party leaders to work with Government to address the floods issue instead of criticism.

Lusaka has suffered one of the worst floods, which have claimed six lives in Mandevu and Ngombe townships.

On its part, the District Disaster Management Unit (DMMU) has been pumping water out of the affected areas and clearing drainages.

Local Government and Housing Minister Eustarkio Kazonga said the Government had released the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which the councils could use to .