Maputo, Mozambique — The authorities in Maputo are assessing conditions in four selected sites in the western province of Tete for the resettlement of victims of the recent floods in the country.

Joint teams of the Mozambican National Mapping Directorate, the National Institute of Physical Planning, the Environment Ministry, and the Public Works and Housing Ministry, were afield last week visiting the located sites in the localities of Inhangoma and Charre, where about 39,000 families are to be resettled.

These were displaced by flooding on the Zambezi and Shire rivers and took refuge in ten accommodation centres set up in the Mutarara district capital of Nhamayabue, and in three other localities.

Reports from Tete say that work is to start soon at the resettlement sites to demarcate land for housing and other social infrastructure, such as schools, health units, shops, and water supply sources.

As part of efforts to normalise the life of the flood victims, various organizations have already distributed agricultural inputs to about 9,000 families in Tete for the second season planting, to make up for the losses caused by the floods.

The province's health authorities also say that the cholera outbreak of the last few weeks has been brought under control.

"We had 102 cases notified and about 80 patients hospitalised," said Mutarara administrator Manuel Chapamba.

He said efforts by the Health ministry and several NGOs helped bring the situation under control, and that as at last Friday only 10 people were still hospitalised.

"We are no longer receiving any new cases of cholera from the accommodation centres," Chapamba affirmed.