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Mozambique: Towns Cut Off as Floods Reach Highest Level Yet
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ActionAid (London)
PRESS RELEASE
1 February 2008
Posted to the web 1 February 2008
Floodwaters in Mozambique have risen again, cutting off the towns of Mutarara and Sena and leaving more than 50,000 people isolated.
Resettlement camps where thousands of people had moved for safety are now threatened by flooding or already flooded.
Local volunteer teams organised by the international development charity ActionAid today helped to rescue 300 people by boat from the flooded Cachaço resettlement camp. By tomorrow they hope to have rescued a further 600.
Alberto Silva, director of ActionAid Mozambique, said: "We have eight staff working in the cut-off area. There is no electricity. The only way to get in or out now is by helicopter."
The Zambezi river has reached a level of 7.2 metres at Mutarara. The river is normally navigable but the strong current now makes it dangerous for small boats. Travelling by boat over the flooded land is also difficult because of shallow water and submerged vegetation.
ActionAid staff in the cut-off area say there is an immediate need for food, materials for temporary shelter, and access to clean water and sanitary facilities. The education system has almost collapsed and educational materials are needed.
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Meanwhile in the coastal district of Maganja da Costa, ActionAid is evacuating 766 families and preparing to distribute nutritional supplements and 1,458 school kits for children. ActionAid has sent two school tents and will be sending six more.
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