/ 8 February 1999

FLOODS THREATEN MAPUTO HIGHWAY

TRAFFIC on the main road from Mozambique’s capital Maputo to neighbouring Swaziland could be cut by floods soon, Mozambican officials warned on Monday. Water management officials said a bridge over the Umbeluzi river, which burst its banks at the weekend, is already under several centimetres of water. The situation is likely to worsen as the Pequenos Libombos dam on the river is full and the floodgates will have to be opened, they said.