UN flies in aid for Mozambique flood victims

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun flying in food and shelter to thousands of victims of heavy flooding in Mozambique, the agency said on Tuesday.

More than two tonnes of mosquito nets, tents and plastic sheeting were flown in by helicopter on Monday to the Mutarara region, while the first deliveries of food were expected to be made on Tuesday to Goligoli, where over 13 000 people have been displaced by the floods, the WFP said in a statement.

“The WFP is planning to deliver 74 mega-tonnes of food to Goligoli, which should take the helicopter about four to five days,” it added.

Many of the flood victims remain stranded in areas that can no longer be reached by road, such as in the Tete, Sofala and Manica Provinces.

The UN agency has already begun delivering food assistance by road, it said.

Before the current crisis, the WFP had been providing aid to about 190 000 people who lost their crops during the Zambezi floods early last year.

The National Institute of Disaster Management said last Wednesday that current flooding in Mozambique could cause more material damage than the catastrophic experience of 2000/01, when torrential rains swept through the former Portuguese colony and claimed more than 700 lives.

Since late November when the rainy season started, the heavy downpour has led to a sharp rise in the levels of the rivers Zambezi, Pongue, Buzi and Save in central and southern parts of the country.

More than 70 000 people have been resettled, particularly in schools and other public buildings.—Sapa-AFP