18 January 2008
Maputo — The known death toll from the floods in central Mozambique now stands at eight, according to Belarmino Chivambo, spokesperson for the National Emergency Operational Centre (CENOE).
Chivambo told AIM that four people had been drowned by the flood on the Pungue river, and one by the flood on the Zambezi. A further three people had been killed by crocodiles in the Pungue valley.
These figures do not include four people reported dead in torrential rains in the northernmost province of Niassa.
Chivambo said that around 14,300 families (about 71,500 people) have been evacuated from dangerous zones to resettlement areas. A further 1,000 people are in transit camps, and will be moved to the resettlement areas.
Reacting to claims, notably from Paulo Majucuane, administrator of Nhamatanda district, in Sofala province, of serious food shortages in the resettlement areas, Chivambo insisted that enough food is available. He admitted, however, that there could be breakdowns in the distribution system.
The general secretary of the Mozambican Red Cross, Fernando Teixeira, told AIM that the resettlement areas do not have enough tents for all the flood victims. Tents and tarpaulins are stored in warehouses in Beira and Maputo, but have not yet reached the resettlement areas for lack of transport.
Teixeira said there is sufficient drinking water in the resettlement areas. Nonetheless diarrhoeal diseases have been reported, and according to the CVM programme director, Eunice Mucache, the first cases of cholera were identified in a centre in Mutarara, in Tete province, on Thursday.
In Zambezia province, the authorities are now using force to evacuate people who have refused to leave dangerous areas in Chinde district, near the mouth of the Zambezi. The targets for this forced evacuation are 180 families living outside the dike that protects the small town of Luabo, and 1,900 people now surrounded by water in the locality of Matilde.
Joao Ribeiro, deputy director of the government's relief agency, the National Disaster Management Institute (INGC), told Radio Mozambique that all people who are still living in dangerous areas will be evacuated, by force if necessary.
More boats have now arrived on the Zambezi. The World Food Programme (WFP) has sent three boats to assist the rescue and evacuation operations, and a large boat has been provided by the Sena Company, which owns the Marromeu sugar plantation on the south bank of the river.
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