Johannesburg highway flooded

Johannesburg - Motorists should avoid the double-decker M1 south at Newtown because the highway was flooded by rain late on Friday afternoon, Johannesburg metro police said.

Chief Supt Wayne Minnaar said that only one lane of the freeway was open to traffic and that there was congestion due to heavy traffic volumes.

"Motorists can use the M2 or the N1 as alternatives," he said.

- SAPA/News24

Oudtshoorn: Storm rig skade aan, slaan krag af

OUDTSHOORN NUUS - 'n Hewige donderstorm met swaar reën en gepaardgaande sterk wind het Dinsdagaand boomtakke afgeruk en 'n paar KKNK-tente platgevee.

Die storm het dele van Oudtshoorn vir etlike ure sonder krag gelaat.

Plase in die Rooiheuwel-omgewing was Woensdagoggend teen 07:00 steeds sonder krag. Weerlig het twee palmbome in Steynstraat aan die brand geslaan terwyl lede van 'n produksiespan by die Johnny Biskit-saal moes bontstaan om te keer dat hulle toerusting beskadig word.

Die swaar reën wat slegs 'n paar minute geduur het, het water deur die saal laat stroom.

By die Rivierbuurt waar uitstaltente reeds opgeslaan is het die wind van die tente platgewaai, maar sover vasgestel kon word is geen ernstige skade aangerig nie.

- Oudtshoorn Courant

Freak 3am flood hits 10 homes

A perimeter wall collapsed on a car parked at Morningside Village Estate after a major water pipe in the area burst. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

Johannesburg - Morningside residents awoke to a rush of water at 3am and were horrified to see their perimeter walls being washed away.

A burst pipe in Outspan Road caused untold damage this morning as walls collapsed and trees fell over, some on parked cars in the upmarket complex Morningside Village Estate. An estimated 10 houses were flooded.

By 8am residents had already hired security guards to watch over their properties, which stood open and vulnerable with no walls.

In one house, builders were demolishing what was left of a wall so that they could start rebuilding.

Complex manager Adele Trollip said she was woken at about 2am by worried residents, but there was nothing they could do at that time.

Johannesburg Water sent a team to try to stop the water immediately.

Spokeswoman Millicent Kabwe said the damage was extensive because a thick pipe had burst.

“Earlier in the day, there had been a burst pipe, but we repaired it. We don’t know at this stage why it burst again,” she said.

A team of engineers was going to the site to investigate the cause of the burst, as well as the damage.

“Given the size of the pipe, we are going to have to get heavy equipment on to the site and this could take a while,” she said.

Water services had not been disrupted, but residents had been asked to use water sparingly for the next few days, she said.

Kabwe said she could not say at this stage how long it would take to effect repairs.

The Joburg emergency services were on standby from early in the morning to monitor the situation, but no injuries were reported.

Traffic in Outspan Road came to a standstill because of debris in the road, and motorists stopping to view the destruction.

- The Star

Swaar reën sluit Meringspoort

Modder, opdrifsels en reuse boomstompe moes die naweek en Maandag uit Meiringspoort verwyder word na swaar reën Saterdagmiddag noord van die Swartberge geval het. Foto: Leon Nell.

OUDTSHOORN NUUSFLITS - Swaar reën Saterdagmiddag het motoriste wat deur Meiringspoort moes ry se reisplanne vir 'n ruk gekortwiek toe die rivier in vloed afgekom het en die poort vir 'n ruk gesluit moes word.

Ondanks voorspellings van die weerburo wat gedeeltelike sonskyn en reën in die vooruitsig gestel het, het swaar reën in gedeeltes noord van die Swartberge geval.

Terwyl Stompdriftdam ‘n beskeie, maar dankbare 15mm reën ontvang het, het gebiede noord van die Swartberg soos Smutskraal en Tarkarivier sowat 100mm reën in ‘n betreklike kort tydjie ontvang.

- Oudtshoorn Courant

Search underway for flood victims in Kwazulu Natal

Disaster management teams are still searching for four people thought to have been swept away by flooded rivers in the Msinga area, near Greytown in KZN.

Co-operative Governance says the bodies of two other people have already been recovered.

The area was lashed by Monday night's severe storm and dozens of homes were damaged after the iSibumba river burst its banks.

The department's Lennox Mabaso says KZN's premier will visit the area today to assess how to assist those who have been affected.

Mabaso says there is a sombre mood in Msinga, especially now that the extent of the damage is being properly gauged.

"Some houses that were washed away, we're not talking just small houses, we're talking about huge houses - those people would have invested a lot of money in constructing them. Some had eight rooms, some six rooms," he said.

"With the news trickling in of bodies being recovered - it changes the picture because the families have been living in the hope of finding their loved ones still alive."

Mabaso says officials are busy building temporary shelters and supplying food to the affected communities.

- East Coast Radio News

Heavy rain: Child drowns in Midlands

The body of a six-year-old child, who drowned after being swept away by a swollen river in the KZN Midlands following heavy rains, has been recovered.

Little Khetelo Madlala is believed to have been walking home from school yesterday afternoon in the Impendle area when he was swept away by the Nzinga river, which had burst its banks.

Meanwhile, in the Msinga area - near Greytown - four other people are also believed to have lost their lives due to the downpour.

Disaster management teams are assessing the damage in the area.

The Umgungundlovu district municipality's Mdu Nxumalo says teams are also assisting 11 families who've been affected by heavy rains in Impendle.

Nxumalo says two homes in the area were also struck by lightning last night.

"There were no injuries, no fatalities [in the lightning strike]," Nxumalo said. "There are teams on site doing a damage assessment."

- East Coast Radio News

Photos: Umgeni River in Flood - Howick

Umgeni River below Mill Falls

Umgeni River breaking its banks

Mill Fall on Umgeni River, above Howick Falls 

Midmar Dam overflow

Images: Clive Wilson (Howick area)

FLOOD WARNING: Public take note - The Umgeni river is in flood and has broken its banks in areas. Low lying areas beware of flooding. If you live in an area along the Umgeni river which is prone to flooding take the necessary precautions now and do not try to cross rivers, low level bridges, flooded roads or streams. - SAWDOS

Two bodies recovered in Msinga

Flooding after a thunderstorm in Msinga
Image by: AFOLABI SOTUNDE / REUTERS

Two bodies of six people who went missing in a thunderstorm in Msinga, northern KwaZulu-Natal, have been recovered, the co-operative governance and traditional affairs department said on Tuesday.

"Two bodies have been recovered today [Tuesday], but we cannot reveal their identities at this stage until their families have been properly notified," said spokesman Lennox Mabaso.

The six were swept away in their homes when the Isibumba river burst its banks and flooded.

"The floods have left 36 people displaced, 25 houses have been completely damaged, and 98 people have been affected," Mabaso said. The rain started on at 6pm on Monday.

"This is indeed a very sad day for us a province as we have come to comfort the families whose lives has been turned asunder as a result of the ferocious storms that hit this area," said co-operative governance MEC Nomusa Dube.

She said the department had spoken to traditional leaders about identifying appropriate land, away from the flood plain, on which families could rebuild their homes.

"Search and rescue crews are on the scene and are searching for those that went missing during the flood," she said.

Dube said families which had lost their homes were being housed at a community hall, and arrangements had been made for them to get all the necessary assistance to ensure they were able to rebuild their lives.

Damage to infrastructure was estimated to run into millions of rand.

Dube, arts and culture MEC Ntombikayise Sibhidla Saphetha, health MEC Sbongiseni Dlomo and Social Development MEC Weziwe Thusi MEC visited the area to asses the damage.

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal sent its condolences to the families which had lost loved ones and those still searching for missing family members.

"We have no doubts that the emergency and rescue team will do their best in searching for the missing people," said spokesman Senzo Mkhize.

"We also want to commend the provincial government for their swift response in providing relief measure to the victims," he said.

- Times Live

Tugela River bursts its banks: 5 missing

At least five people are missing after the Tugela River burst its banks last night, flooding many homes in the Msinga area near Greytown. Search and rescue efforts are underway.

Cooperative Governance MEC Nomusa Dube is expected to lead Disaster Management teams through affected communities today.

Her spokesperson Lennox Mabaso says they will be taking stock of the damage to see how they can assist those affected by the storm:

"A severe thunderstorm tore through parts of Msinga leaving a trail of destruction," he said.

"We spent a sleepless night trying to provide temporary shelter to the victims."

-East Coast Radio News

Severe thunderstorm causes flash flooding and power outages in Port Elizabeth (10 February 2013)

A severe thunderstorm over Port Elizabeth caused damage and drama yesterday as heavy rainfall, accompanied by hail and lightning, led to flash flooding and power outages in parts of the city.

A stream of posts on social network site Facebook also reported roads, homes and gardens being flooded in mere minutes.

The PE Branch of the SA weather service reports that 25 millimetres of rain fell at the airport during yesterday's storm.

Third Avenue Dip in Newton Park measured 43 millimetres of rain.

It was closed to traffic earlier today but has since been reopened.

Coega measured 37 millimetres and Uitenhage 13.

In other parts of the Eastern Cape, Joubertina measured 28 millimetres, East London 34, Storms River 23, Barkley East 21 and Aliwal North 28.

- Herald/AlgoaFM

Flooding in Southern Africa

(Click on image for larger view.)

 download large image (4 MB, JPEG, 3382x5073)

After days of torrential rain pushed the lower Limpopo River over its banks in late January 2013, flood water surrounded the city of Xai-Xai in southern Mozambique. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this natural-color image on January 31.

Xai-Xai is situated about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the ocean, where the Limpopo River meanders over a flat coastal plain. In late January, muddy water not only filled the river channel, but also washed over agricultural fields. Muddy water could even been seen in the rectangular street grid of Xai-Xai.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) anticipated the flooding. On January 29, the institute reported that flood water had reached the northern edges of Xai-Xai; that the airport was inundated; and long stretches of roads had been flooded. UNITAR reported that the high water on the Limpopo—which had already inundated Chókwé—would continue to drain southward.

Flood waters were not confined to the lower Limpopo River. According to Voice of America and other news sources, flooding also struck the Zambezi River in northern Mozambique, as well as parts of Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa. On February 2, Agence France-Presse reported that the death toll in Mozambique had reached 68, and the estimated number of people affected ranged from 180,000 to 250,000. News sources compared the current flood levels to those seen in the year 2000, when severe flooding claimed several hundred lives.

1. References

2. Powell, A. (2013, February 1) Deadly floods hit Mozambique. Voice of America. Accessed February 4, 2013.
3. South African Press Association, Agence France-Presse. (2013, February 2) 68 dead as Mozambique floods spread north. Sunday Times. Accessed February 4, 2013.
4. UN Country Team in Mozambique. (2013, February 2) Floods in Mozambique: 1800 people rescued in Zambezia Province. ReliefWeb. Accessed February 4, 2013.
5. UNOSAT, International Charter. (2013, January 29) Floods over Xai Xai City, Gaza Province, Mozambique (as of 29 Jan 2013). ReliefWeb. Accessed February 4, 2013.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 team. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument: 

EO-1 - ALI  - NASA

Flooding reported in parts of Johannesburg

Heavy rains in Johannesburg cause havoc on the roads as water rises to levels as high as car windows. Picture: @MrsH02 via Twitter

JOHANNESBURG - There are reports of flooding in large parts of the Johannesburg CBD and surrounding areas on Monday afternoon.

Traffic is moving slowly along all major routes in and out of the city centre.
A woman, who was driving in Newtown, said the water was rising fast.

“There’s a dip at Miriam Makeba Road and the water has risen as high as my window. My car could go through the water, but other people’s cars are getting stuck and people are making U-turns there, which is causing havoc.”

Weather forecaster Edwin Thema said heavy thunderstorms have been moving across Johannesburg from the south.

“We have a line of thunder storms moving into Johannesburg’s city centre and moving further up north into the East Rand. All these showers will be moving further north, as far as Pretoria, by this evening.”

He said storms should not last more than an hour before moving on.

- EWN

Flash Flood in Congo on Friday, 01 February, 2013 at 09:51 (09:51 AM) UTC.

At least 1,386 families were left homeless in Mbanza Kongo, Northern Zaire Province, following the heavy rains that hit the city on Tuesday night, says the civil protection and fire department. The rains destroyed 231 residences, being 122 in 11 de Novembro and 109 in SagradaEsperanca wards, surroundings of Mbanza Kongo city, adds the source. The rains also injured seven people that are receiving medical treatment in the local provincial hospital, says the department.

- RSOE EDIS

SANW doen noodleniging in vloedgeteisterde Mosambiek

Die Suid-Afrikaanse lugmag en vloot het reeds meer as 490 mense gered wat deur vloedwater in Mosambiek vasgekeer was. Die weermag is ook in die land ontplooi om noodlenigingswerk te doen na oorstromings groot verwoesting gesaai het.

- E-NUUS

Southern Africa: Floods Situation Report (as of 30 January 2013)

Highlights

Heavy rains continue to fall over northern Mozambique, causing floods in some areas and affecting at least 510 people. Parts of northern and central Madagascar are also
recording heavy rainfall from the same low pressure system located in the Mozambique Channel. Felleng, now a Category Three Tropical Cyclone and expected to strengthen to Category Four in the next 24 hours, continues its southward trajectory, about 200 km parallel to the eastern coast of Madagascar. Felleng is projected to bring three to four days of rainfall to the eastern coast of Madagascar; flooding is expected.

Situation Overview

While the flood response in southern Mozambique is continuing, new cases of flooding are being reported in northern Mozambique. Tropical Cyclone Felleng is moving parallel to the eastern coast of Madagascar, and while not projected to make landfall, flooding is still expected. River levels are also high across the region.

Madagascar

Tropical Cyclone Felleng threatens east coast

Felleng, now a Category Three Tropical Cyclone and expected to strengthen to Category Four in the next 24 hours, continues its southward trajectory, about 200 km parallel to the eastern coast of Madagascar (See annex for a planning map of districts likely to be affected by Felleng).

Felleng is projected to bring three to four days of rainfall to the eastern coast of Madagascar. Floods are expected on the eastern coast and possible in the capital Antananarivo (in part also due to the low pressure system in the Mozambique Channel that is bringing rain to parts of northern and central Madagascar and northern Mozambique.

In Antananarivo, the floods contingency plan has been activated. An emergency meeting has been held between the city council and the Red Cross to establish temporary shelters and prepare for possible evacuations.

In other regions, the National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) is working with the Red Cross to prepare for possible evacuations. Two BNGRC teams will be deployed to areas at risk, and a Medair Team is already in place.

The UN Country Team has also met and stands ready to respond in support of BNGRC.

Mozambique

New floods in northern Mozambique


Heavy rain continues to fall over northern Mozambique, causing floods in many areas. In the Maganja da Costa district in Zambezia Province, 105 houses have been damaged, affecting 510 people. Assessment of the damage is ongoing.

As more rains over northern Mozambique is expected over the next few days, the situation requires close monitoring.

National authorities have requested sector leads to strengthen their support to provincial Emergency Operation Centers (COE) in the provinces of Zambezia, Cabo Delgado and Niassa.

Mozambique, in dealing with the floods in the south, is already stretched to capacity, therefore additional flooding in the north could have serious humanitarian implications. Flood response continues in the south

The distribution of food and relief supplies by Government and partners in the flood
affected areas in southern Mozambique are ongoing.

Due to high number of people in temporary shelters, the Disaster Management
Technical Council (CTGC) has recommended the strengthening of protections measures in all shelters in Gaza Province.

The UN is sending a helicopter to Gaza to support the provision of relief supplies and to enable access to isolated areas, such as the districts of Chigubo and Chicualacua.

Sanitation is still a major concern in Chokwe district, as well as in the temporary shelters. There is a need for water purification supplies and materials to construct latrines, as well as for antibiotics, oral rehydration salts and mosquito nets. More tents and shelter kits are required to assist those that remain unsheltered. As the
number of those in need continue to increase, more food is also needed. The following information has not changed since yesterday’s report:

At least 48 people have died in severe floods that have devastated southern Mozambique. Some 250,000 people have been affected, of which 146,000 people are still being housed in temporary shelters. Access to some areas continues to be an issue, with many roads and bridges washed away.

The rains over southern Mozambique have ceased for the time being, and the floodwaters are slowly subsiding. Still, many have lost everything in the floods and will thus require continued humanitarian assistance.

The Government of Mozambique, supported by the UN and partners, are responding; and while much support is being provided, more is needed. The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) is drafting response plans, which should be launched within the next few days. It is hoped that these will be adequately supported, in order to save lives and livelihoods.

Botswana

Flooding in northern Botswana

No new information has been received since yesterday’s report. The information below still the latest:

Flooding due to extremely heavy rains has been reported in the North-East and Central districts of Botswana.

It is still unclear how many people have been affected. However, in Dukwi Refugee Camp around 120 shelters housing 325 refugees have been damaged by high waters. Sewage systems in the camp are also affected. The National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), together with Botswana Red Cross Society (BCRS), has responded to address the immediate needs of the affected people. The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, is supporting the Government of Botswana to assist displaced refugees and has provided food and other basic materials.

The prepositioned relief supplies of both NDMO and BCRS has now been completely exhausted, which could affect their ability to respond to any further flooding that may occur. A full situation report is expected shortly.

Forecast

The low pressure system in the Mozambique Channel will continue to bring heavy rains to northern Mozambique and northern and central Madagascar over the next week. Tropical Cyclone Felleng will also bring heavy rains to the entire eastern coast of Madagascar. Significant rainfall is also forecasted for central South Africa, including Lesotho, as well as much of Zambia and Malawi. The following week
(07 to 15 February), rain is again expected over southern Mozambique, which may again increase water levels.

This report is produced by OCHA Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It was issued by OCHA ROSA. It covers the period from 29 to 30 January 2013. The next report will be issued on or around 01 February 2013.

Situation Update : Floods over Chokwe, Gaza Province, Mozambique (as of 29 Jan 2013)

This map illustrates satellite-detected areas of flood waters along the Limpopo River in the city of Chokwe of Gaza Province, Mozambique, as detected by WorldView-2 imagery acquired 26 January 2013. Multiple villages including the city of Chokwe are completely inundated by flood waters along the river. However flood waters appear to be receding in this area as they move south of Chokwe. Flood waters have reached as far as Xai Xai south of Chokwe city. East of the Limpopo River additional villages are inundated as flood waters progress south east from the river. Large sections of road and railroad are also affected. This is a preliminary analysis & has not yet been validated in the field.

- UNITAR / UNOSAT / RELIEFWEB.

Flash flooding strikes Zimbabwe’s dry areas

Photo: WFP/Naomi Scott - Several countries in Southern Africa have been affected by flooding and hundreds of thousands of people require humanitarian assistance

HARARE, 29 January 2013 (IRIN) - Flash flooding across Zimbabwe’s Masvingo and Matabeleland provinces, normally dry areas, has caused substantial damage to infrastructure. While more than 4,000 people across the country are in need of humanitarian assistance following heavy rains.

“Our area is normally dry, and we were caught unawares by the floods, which destroyed almost all the bridges and badly damaged the roads. As a result, communication is difficult,” Alois Baloyi, member of parliament (MP) representing the Chiredzi North rural constituency in Masvingo, told IRIN.

“I have… been informed that more than 10 adults and at least four children have drowned. The number of victims could be bigger, though, as a proper assessment is yet to be done,” he said.

Moses Mare, an MP from a nearby constituency in Chiredzi, said recent flash floods saw water rise above ground floor window level, and affected more than 200 families in the sugar-producing town of Triangle.

“The 240 families lost their food stocks, property and blankets. Most of them lost their means of communication as their cell phones were swept away and [they] could not immediately communicate the disaster,” he said.

Simon Machaya, teacher based in the Masvingo’s Mwenezi District, told IRIN that 30 satellite schools in rural communities were destroyed by storms.

“Hundreds of school children are currently not attending school because their classrooms were blown away. These satellite schools were made up of fragile material such as home-made bricks and thatched roofs. The little stationery and books they had were lost and there is urgent need for assistance,” Machaya said.

Flooding across the region

A 29 January situation report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, “Heavy rainfall across the country during mid-January 2013 affected an estimated 8,490 people, of which 4,615 people require humanitarian assistance in the form of emergency shelter and non-food items.”

Across the region, floods have occurred in Botswana and Malawi - where 30,785 people were affected - and Mozambique. In Mozambique, about 250,000 people have been affected, with 146,000 living in temporary shelters, the OCHA situation report said.

Tropical Cyclone Felleng is expected to shave past Madagascar in the next few days, and could bring “significant rainfall” despite not making landfall. There were also reports of increasing river levels in the capital, Antananarivo, which could “reach alert levels with additional rainfall,” the OCHA flood update said.

- Irin

Video : Mozambique Floods

Mozambique, 27 January -- South Africa's neighbouring country is warning of a national catastrophe as floodwaters continue to rise. With the number of casualties increasing, emergency workers have ramped up evacuations.

- E-NCA

Mozambique floods spur roof births, ruin and diarrhoea

Residents on rooftops trying to evade flood waters in Chokwe, Mozambique. Image by: FERHAT MOMAD

GUIJA, Mozambique, Jan 28, 2013 (AFP) - Now that the water is receding, residents affected by flooding in Mozambique are starting to repair the damage, looking for good news amid reports of rooftop births and diarrhoea, and cholera lurking in the shadows.

The flooding from the Limpopo river, which began on Wednesday, killed around 40 people and forced more than 100,000 others to flee.

Amid the catastrophe, two babies were born on roofs where their mothers had taken refuge in the southern village of Guija.

"We helped one woman give birth on the roof of a clinic and another on top of a house when the water came," Guija's district health director Antonio Assede told AFP.

"One of the babies is four-day-old Rofino, who appears healthy at her mother's breast."

Olalia Machava, an aunt who assisted in the birth, added: "We had climbed to the top of the house when she started to have pains.

"A nurse helped her. The next day in the afternoon they came in boats to take her to hospital."

The mud-filled hospital in Guija is empty, with all the furniture and equipment drying outside, while a nurse distributes painkillers to the sick and ensures the injured are airlifted to hospitals outside the area.

Local medical staff have already treated around 70 cases of diarrhoea and are keeping an eye out for cholera and other waterborne diseases.

"The children are beginning to get sick with diarrhoea because of the dirty water they are drinking. Their parents too," Guija nurse Lourdes Machava told AFP.

Children in the village said they have had no drinking water nor food since Wednesday.

Apart from air transport, which is reserved for urgent cases, the only way to access the community of roughly 7,000 residents is by boat.

Local officials estimate that Guija will remain isolated for at least three months, the time it will take to rebuild the roads and bridges swept away by the Limpopo waters.

In the neighbouring town of Chokwe, the 9,000 residents who stayed behind -- out of a population of 60,000 -- began clean-up efforts, laying out to dry the possessions they were able to salvage.

Others walked through the streets drunk, having helped themselves to alcohol in flood-damaged stores in a town in urgent need of clean water and food.

With relief efforts focused on camps located around 30 kilometres (20 miles) away, some locals said they were struggling to get their hands on emergency supplies.

A bereaved father recalled how on Wednesday the flood waters swept his five-year-old daughter from his arms as they tried to escape to higher ground.

"The water was up to my neck. I was carrying her. The water took her," Jose Nhanve told AFP.

He said h

e spent two days scouring the edges of the floodwaters for Eldinha and making enquiries with the authorities, without success.

Four bodies were found in Chokwe, whose flood-ravaged streets were also littered with rotting animal carcasses.

According to a toll from the United Nations on Friday, the severe flooding killed at least 36 people, most in the southern province of Gaza.

The floods, which have also hit neighbouring South Africa and Zimbabwe, are the result of days of torrential rains this month that swelled the river.

The UN children's agency UNICEF said Sunday that the number of people forced to flee their homes in the Limpopo valley had reached 108,000.

About 23,000 families have sought shelter in camps in Gaza, and the UN World Food Programme has begun feeding some 75,000 flood-affected people, according to the United Nations.

While the river has started to recede in Chokwe and Guija, the situation remains serious in the partly inundated coastal tourist city of Xai-Xai.

Some 45,000 people were thought to be at risk there from the deluge, Rita Almeida, a spokeswoman for Mozambique's Disaster Relief Management Institute, told AFP.

- ReliefWeb

Mozambique flooding to spread as more rain forecast

MAPUTO, Jan 28, 2013 (AFP) - Mozambique on Monday warned that fresh rains could spread deadly floods to the north and centre of the country, as the number affected was expected to rise to well over 100,000.

At least 40 people have died in floods that have paralysed the south of the country since a red alert was announced on 22 January.

With several major southern towns in the path of the Limpopo river still abandoned or on high alert, central and southern Mozambique was now in the firing line.

Authorities are warning that heavy rains predicted for the coming days will mean that serious flooding will spread to the Zambezi basin.

"We have more rain predicted for Zambezia province and in the north of Sofala where it is already raining," Rita Almeida, a spokeswoman for Mozambique's National Disaster Management Institute, told AFP.

Sofala is home to Beira, Mozambique's second city, which lies around 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) along the coast from Maputo.

"We are asking people to move out of houses that could be destroyed by rain," Alweida said.

Already, 160 millimeters has fallen in the Sofala province over the past two days.

"Over the next five days between 75 and 250 millimeters of rain is predicted," meteorologist Sergio Buque from Mozambique's national weather office said.

As the north and centre braced for impact, in the south the authorities battled to rescue and care for survivors.

Already 108,000 people have been affected by the floods, but it is expected that a fresh data later Monday will see that figure rise considerably.

"People in high-risk areas are still being rescued," Almeida said, explaining boats, helicopters and trucks were being used to transport people from more remote areas to temporary shelters set up by the government and aid agencies.

She said authorities did not yet know how many had been pulled to safety so far.

In Chokwe, a southern town that was completely rebuilt after the devastating floods of 2000, relief agencies have reported the entire population has now been moved to an evacuation zone.

Humanitarian agencies are struggling to respond to the scale of the crisis.

"The main needs are tents and clean water, but they basically need everything," said Katherine Mueller, a spokeswoman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"There will be a huge need of sanitation, mosquito nets, shelter, kitchen sets and blankets as families begin returning home in the coming weeks."

The UN is coordinating relief efforts with NGOs and the Mozambique government’s disaster management agency.

On Friday, UNICEF pegged the total funding needed for humanitarian efforts at $15 million, but anticipated that number would rise dramatically as the situation is better assessed throughout the next few days.

- ReliefWeb