Johannesburg — UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement on Thursday that he was "deeply concerned at the rapidly deteriorating flood situation in Mozambique".

"Mozambique is inches away from a humanitarian disaster. Despite the continuing efforts of the government, United Nations agencies, and other humanitarian partners, some 50,000 people may need urgent evacuation," the statement said. "The Secretary-General appeals to governments and the private sector with the capacity to position marine and helicopter assets in central Mozambique to respond urgently."

A South African National Defence Force (SANDF) spokesman told IRIN on Friday that an SANDF team currently in Mozambique would remain in the country until 15 March. "The decision was taken this morning (Friday) to extend their mission," said Colonel John Rolt. The SANDF operation is equipped with helicopters and transport aircraft.

Ross Mountain, the UN Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator told journalists in Geneva on Thursday that water levels along the Zambezi were high and continuing to rise. He estimated that one million hectares of land was already under water, but a contingency plan had been prepared and that stocks of relief items had been prepositioned in strategic places.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the South African weather bureau in Pretoria told IRIN that a tropical depression was still "sitting" in the Mozambique Channel and was heading in a southerly direction. "It is intensifying a bit affecting parts of Madagascar. We are watching to see how and if it will affect Mozambique," he said.

Mozambique radio said on Friday that the Cahora Bassa dam was already filled to capacity because of upstream flooding. It said that authorities had opened a fifth sluice gates and were considering opening a sixth which could see the level of the Zambezi rise higher resulting in more damage. The floods in Mozambique began in January, affecting four provinces and over 400,000 people.