Post date: Jan 26, 2013 5:29:51 PM
Mozambican and South African boats rescue 12,000 families from deadly floods incentral Mozambique that officials say have killed at least 36 people.
XAI XAI , MOZAMBIQUE (JANUARY 25, 2013) (UNICEF) - Mozambican and South African military helicopters and boats continued to rescue families from floods in central Mozambique on Friday (January 25) that have killed 36 people and inundated villages, towns and huge swathes of farmland, officials said.
The war-scarred southern African nation's central provinces have had up to 500 mm of rain in 12 days, more than the combined average for January, February and March, according to its Meteorological Institute.Authorities estimate some 12,000 families have had to be evacuated from their homes.
The downpour, combined with floodwater surging down the Limpopo river from neighbouring South Africa and Zimbabwe, has left Chokwe, a town of 70,000 people 140 km (90 miles) north of Maputo, completely submerged.
According to the United Nations the total number of affected in Gaza Province is 65,000, but this number may potentially reach 100,000 as water levels continue to rise in the nearby coastal city of Xai-Xai. About 70, 000 people have been temporarily displaced.
The government issued an alert on Tuesday (January 22) telling all residents to evacuate within 48 hours, although it is unclear how many heeded the warning.
Families have climbed onto roofs and up trees to escape the rising floods in the region, which was also hit by extensive flooding in 2000.
Government shelters have taken in 12,000 families and the United Nations has so far supplied 700 tonnes of food.
The National Meteorological Institute said the rain is subsiding but it is continuing to monitor fronts and possible cyclones.
The flooding has also killed at least 12 people in South Africa and allowed 15,000 crocodiles to escape into the Limpopo when dams protecting a reptile farm on the banks of the river overflowed.