A sudden rain downpour in Malawi on Tuesday afternoon (25 November) flooded water into the generator room and the Malawi FM studio leaving a layer of mud all over. This occurred just weeks before their planned on-air testing phase date of 17 December.

This happened during the construction of the cable extension between the generator building and the transmitter hut.

Feba's Development Engineer in Malawi reports:
"On Tuesday we extended the cable trench as far as the wall outside the generator building and the underground ducts. In the afternoon we had a downpour and water ran down the trench from the hill, completely filling up the trench and running into the unoccupied ducts, causing fountains of water in the first small room of the generator building. Water also ran down the pipe into the studio equipment room and the studios. The carpets in these rooms are completely water logged, with parts of the carpet still completely under water. I couldn't see the full extent of the damage yesterday because there was an all-day power cut."

Bob Bartz, Development Director for Southern and Central Africa, adds:
"From what I gather, there was no significant damage to equipment but some tools were lost. There was one PC that was sitting on the floor in one studio that may have been damaged. It looks as though this will impact the training of presenters in the studio. There will need to be some decisions regarding where that training can take place. The staff members still think they will make the on-air testing phase deadline of 17 December. Flooding should not be a problem once cable installation is complete. It's unfortunate but one of the risks we had to take because of scheduling and availability of materials."