SUSAN NJANJI, Maputo | Monday 6.00pm.
FLOOD-RAVAGED Mozambique’s government on Monday said almost 500 people were now known to have died in the catastrophe, while the UN food agency was set to make a new multi-million dollar aid plea.
“The total number of people dead found by local authorities is now 492,” a government spokesman told reporters, taking the official figure well up from the previously given 354.
The UN World Food Programme was meanwhile planning to ask for a further 34 million dollars for emergency relief and longer-term supplies for hundreds of thousands of flood victims, WFP spokesperson Lindsey Davies said.
Much of Mozambique’s highway and rail infrastructure has been damaged and the reopening of roads is vital to increase the amount of aid transported overland.
While helicopters have a capacity of between two and five tonnes, various types of truck can carry between five and fifteen tonnes per load.
“Trucks have more capacity and we are looking at ways to increase the amount of food we carry,” she said.
Floodwaters have receded in parts of Mozambique, revealing the extent of damage to crops and communities, and aid workers see current priorities as including distribution of seeds as well as food.
The WFP will distribute seed to people who have already received food aid, Davies said, amid fears that families that have run out of food may be tempted to eat seeds if they are distributed separately.
With the death toll officially rising, Mozambique’s former first lady Graca Machel said that the army should take on the job of clearing corpses from town streets.
Leaders from across southern Africa will gather on Tuesday to assess the impact of rains, floods and storms on the whole region, Mozambican Foreign Minister Leonardo Simao said on Monday.