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Floods worsening in central Mozambique

Xinhua, January 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

Floods turned worse in Mozambique as about 200,000 people are now said to be affected in the central Mozambican of Zambezia and the death toll has risen to 16, according to the National Institute of Disasters Management (INGC).

INGC expert Mariano Luciano said these numbers are provisory as there are still a lot of people on trees and roofs of the houses in isolated areas, where roads and bridges were cut due to the violence of the flooding waters.

Luciano said that the deaths occurred in various parts of Zambezia. She added that INGC has now two helicopters which are doing technical flights to collect detailed information on what exactly happened.

Although the INGC has boats to be used for rescue operations, Luciano said they couldn't be used so far because of strength of the flooding waters.

One of the helicopters started dropping food relief on Thursday to help the victims of the floods.

Meanwhile, South Africa sent on Thursday a rescue team to the Mozambican central province of Zambezia. The South African team is made up of marines, medical doctors and specialists in various areas and has air rescue equipment.

Casimiro dos Santos Abreu from the Zambezia provincial government said that the South African team will help reduce the suffering of the Mozambicans who are on trees and other isolated remote areas without food or drinking water because of the floods. He added that Mozambique needs air rescue equipment, boats and food to help the victims of the floods.

Radio Mozambique, the official radio station reported this afternoon that 18 people are said to have died in the northern province of Niassa where the situation is also considered dramatic.

The railway line linking this province with Malawi is cut, what will have serious economic consequences for the Mozambican government.

"It's very complicated," said Altino Ribeiro from the Mozambican railway company who estimated that it would require 30 days to repair damages by floods but only if the rains subside.

In Nampula province, there are news of lots of infrastructures destroyed including schools, rail lines, power poles and bridges.

Power cuts are now affecting 300,000 people in four provinces, Zambezia, Nampula, Niassa and Cabo Delgado, as high voltage power poles were swept away by flooding waters. Endi