Maputo — Flood warnings have been issued this weekend for five rivers in central Mozambique - the Zambezi, the Buzi, the Save, the Pungoe and the Licungo.

The National Water Board (DNA) has warned against attempts to cross the rivers, swollen by the torrential rains that have hit the country over the past week. The DNA has advised people to stay away from flood prone areas, and to remove any farming equipment or other goods from the river banks.

By Friday, the Zambezi, the Buzi and the Pungoe had all reached flood alert level. The Save and the Licungo were continuing to rise ominously but had not yet reached alert level.

The Limpopo, which had been virtually dry on its middle stretches earlier this month, is also rising, but does not pose an immediate threat.

The Cahora Bassa dam has increased its discharges into the Zambezi to 3,340 cubic metres a second. This measure is to lower the level of the dam lake so that it will be able to hold more water at the height of the rainy season, which is usually in January and February.

The reasoning is that increased discharges now will avoid the need for a rapid rise in the amount discharged from the Cahora Bassa floodgates later in the rainy season. At the peak of last February's Zambezi floods, Cahora Bassa was releasing over 8,000 cubic metres of water a second.