WFP not alarmed by flood reports

Despite reports of localised flooding in Mozambique over the past two weeks that has displaced several hundred people, WFP told IRIN on Monday that it was not yet alarmed by the situation. “The situation was worse at this time last year. We are on the look out for anything alarming, but at the moment we are not preoccupied,” WFP spokesman Inyene Udoyen said. “There is no river at flood alert level, but we are keeping a close eye.” News reports last week said that in the wake of heavy rains, flooding had left more than 570 people homeless and destroyed 1,275 hectares of crops in the central Mozambican province of Zambezia. The Chire river, a tributary of the Zambezi burst its banks and several roads in the district of Morrumbala were cut off. At Mutarara in the western province of Tete, the Zambezi was also reportedly rising. “The areas that people are being moved from are basically floodplains,” Udoyen said. “Most of the people know that, but this is fertile land. They put up temporary structures. Most people don’t lose everything when the river floods. It’s worth it, because you can get a couple of crops in.” Meanwhile, WFP is sending food supplies to Zumbo, at the mouth of the Cahora Bassa dam in Tete, where 5,000 people were reportedly displaced earlier this month by the rise in the level of the Zambezi following the opening of a floodgate on Lake Kariba in neigbouring Zambia. The rations are enough to last for three months as a contingency measure. “At this time of year Zumbo is always isolated,” Udoyen said. “Cahora Bassa still has a lot of excess capacity left. Our [local] office is reporting that things are not particularly alarming.”