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'The town is under water'
12/02/2008 17:10 - (SA)
Luanda - More than 10 000 people have been forced from their homes and two thousand makeshift houses swept away by floods after heavy rain pounded parts of southern Angola, authorities said on Tuesday.
Some of those displaced were being put up in tents at makeshift camps while others were being housed in schools in the provinces of Cunene, Namibe and Huila. But authorities said they unable to cope with the number of people who need to be rescued from the danger area.
"Right now there are people still trapped that cannot be rescued. We're sending new police reinforcements to take people from risk areas into safety," Eugenio Laborinho, commander of the National Protection Services, said.
"We have passed from an abnormal situation to a case of calamity."
The town of Ondjiva in Cunene Province saw the worst of the floods, with more than 9 000 people displaced.
A resident in the area said that the scale of the flooding was unprecedented.
"The town is under water. You see houses, cars parked in garages all sitting in the water. I have never seen rain like this," said Carlos Txiwissa.
The southern provinces of Cunene, Huila, Namibe and Cuando Cubango have been worst hit by the intensive downpours which come after a lengthy drought.
- AFP
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