Caia, Mozambique — Members of Action By Churches Together, ACT, have started to distribute tents and plastic sheets to flood victims in the Mozambican district of Caia, the organisation announced on March 5.
Prior to this emergency ACT members in Mozambique had attained a level of disaster preparedness with stocks of materials such as plastic sheeting, blankets, jerry cans, tents, tinned goods, health kits and used clothes. These were ready for distribution in the current emergency.
According to reports, an estimated number of more than 11,000 people and 46 percent of land have been affected by the floods caused by torrential rains. Latest reports say that at least 52 people had died and 81,000 had been left homeless.
In Caia, ACT members Lutheran World Federation LWF, which is working with the local NGO CEDES, and the Christian Council of Churches of Mozambique CCM assist people made homeless by the flood.
First priority is the distribution of tents, plastic sheeting and tinned fish. CEDES has sent four trucks with the relief items to the area. 25 tons of relief goods from LWF, aid for 10,000 people, are on the way from Maputo.
The transport of the material to disaster prone areas had been delayed for two months because the government had initially insisted on import duties on the relief goods. The bad condition of the roads makes transport very difficult. Under these conditions the 380-km drive from Beira to Caia takes two days.
ACT members are co-ordinating their work and assisting each other. CCM is distributing relief material in Zambezia and upstream Chaora Bassa, the Presbyterian Church of Mozambique IPM in Mutarara and LWF/CEDES in Northern Sofala.
Two weeks ago, CCM and IPM started with the distribution of food, blankets, chlorine tablets for safe water and survival kits. The water levels in Mozambique keep rising. Though the future seems bleak, the situation is not comparable to the floods that struck Gaza province at the same time last year.
The great mighty Zambezi is truly living up to its name as it continues to drastically change the landscape of Zambezi, Sofala,Tete and Manica provinces. Much of the surface area of the flood plains and lower lying areas of Zambezi and Sofala provinces are submerged.
The water of the Zambezi has cut off most of the small towns along the river basin leaving locals to fend for themselves as they struggle to get to higher ground. From the air, local canoes can be seen transporting goods and people who are willing to move to safer areas.
Not all wish to be evacuated because they fear losing their property and domestic animals. South African pilots report being turned away by anxious villagers who are more desperate for food than for moving.
Getting food, medical kits and other goods to where they are required is becoming a logistical nightmare for the rescue workers and aid workers. Because these small towns have no means of communicating with one another, aid workers rely on the information provided by the pilots to assess the situation on the ground.
As it is becoming clear that not all are interested in being evacuated, aid workers have been compelled to respond by setting up drop-off points on higher ground. Still, it is unclear how those without canoes and boats will reach these designated points. Both human and animal are trapped on these islands thus further complicating rescue efforts.
The co-ordination point for the south of Zambezi river basin is at Caia some 380 km north of Beira. Every morning, Caia, once a dormant provincial town, wakes up to the deafening sound of the engines of the rescue and delivery aeroplanes and helicopters that take off from the small airstrip.
The town has now been turned into a bustling hub with helicopters and planes landing every second minute. At peak hours the skies are congested making major international airports seem like a joke. The little town is in awe of this spectacle.
Locals, still not used to this kind of attention, sit for almost the whole day staring at the multitudes of flying machines on the airstrip. The townspeople stare in wonder at the world that is descended upon them.
Caia is completely surrounded by water and is cut off from its neighbouring towns; Chupanga and Murraca. Chpanga is besieged by the Zambezi leaving its residents no choice but to leave. With the waters of the Zambezi and Cahora Bassa Dam fluctuating, the situation on the ground becomes highly unpredictable.
The government's National Institute for the Management of Calamities INGC is still closely monitoring the water levels particularly in Zumbu at the entrance of the Cahora Bassa. Although large areas have been already flooded, the extent of the flooding depends on the weather conditions in neighbouring Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
The four provinces are not out of danger yet as it may rain thus making Zimbabwe's Kariba Lake a great danger to the lives of Mozambicans living on and around the flood plains of Zambezi river basin.
Along the south of the river, some houses on solid dry ground can be spotted while others are completely submerged with roof tops being the only evidence of their past existence. From the unaffected houses, women wave to pilots as they fly past while guarding their livestock and preventing it from drowning.
Stranded animals, whose owners have been evacuated, can be seen moving back and forth on little patches of land that will surely be submerged should the river rise even by 50 cm. At the moment the water is still being kind. Reports indicate that in certain areas water levels are receding.
While the level of the water of the Zambezi river fluctuates, government officials are relieved that there have been no serious outbreak of diseases. "We know at least that we haven't heard any outbreak of cholera," the Minister of Health Dr Songane said at a co- ordination meeting held in Beira on March 5.
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The Minister confirmed the unpredictable nature of the situation when he pointed out how differently villages and towns have been affected. "It is not the same everywhere. Some houses are submerged whilst others are no," he confirmed.
Meanwhile, the government is still requesting for further assistance with material aid such as tents, blankets and food. Most of these will be delivered using the government's two boats that are travelling systematically across the Zambezi picking up those who wish to be moved to safety.
The government faces another obstacle: people's refusal to be evacuated even if they are informed that they are in great danger. In dire cases it has taken a decision to forcefully remove reluctant evacuees for fear that they will be killed if the water level rises.
So far, the government has been closely monitoring the water levels and it will continue to do so for the next week or so until Mozambique is out of danger. The latest reports indicate that the water level at the Cahora Bassa is on the rise again.
The government hopes to maintain the outflow of water through the sluice gates at around 7000 cubic metres. Less volume of discharged water would be more desirable, the INGC officials concluded last week. ?
Reported by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga who just arrived in Mozambique and works as communicator there.
