/ 18 February 2006

Heavy rains leave death and destruction in Lesotho

The heaviest rains in nearly 20 years have killed five people in Lesotho and forced thousands more to flee their homes, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported on Friday.

The Lesotho disaster-management authority said bridges, houses and fields of crops were swept away or buried in landslides.

Property damage is estimated in the tens of millions of rands.

A Lesotho meteorology service official said residents of the Leribe, Butha-Buthe and Quthing districts have sought refuge on higher ground.

Rocks were tumbling from hills and mountainsides, causing panic, the SABC reported the official as saying. — Sapa