UN sends aid to flooded Moz
2008-01-22 13:25
Maputo - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun flying in food and shelter to thousands of victims of heavy flooding in Mozambique, says the agency.
Some 2.2 tons 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 more than 13 000 people had been displaced by the floods, the WFP said in a statement.
It added: "The WFP is planning to deliver 74 megatonnes of food to Goligoli, which should take the helicopter around four to five days."
Many of the flood victims remained stranded in areas that could no longer be reached by road, such as in the Tete, Sofala and Manica Provinces.
WFP provides aid to 190 000 people
The UN agency had already begun delivering food assistance by road, it said.
Before the current crisis, the WFP had been providing aid to some 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 2000-2001, after torrential rains swept through the former Portuguese colony and claimed more than 700 lives.
Since late November when the raining season started, the heavy downpour had 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 had been resettled, particularly in schools and other public buildings.