International response to flooding

In its situation report on the floods in Mozambique, the UN’s Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that up to 23 people had died and 70,000 people had been affected by the recent flooding in Mozambique. It adds that about 6,000 people had been displaced by the floods. OCHA said a first estimate showed that up to 40,000 hectares of arable land had been flooded, but this figure needed to be confirmed by up-dated satellite images. It said the main highway which covers the country from north to south is under water and where the water had receded, massive craters had opened up. An assessment of the local population is currently being impeded by the flooding of the secondary road network. It said immediate support in health care needed to be provided to avoid the spread of malaria and diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera. OCHA said the priorities were the rehabilitation of road access and the repair to bridges to allow for the rescue of isolated people and to help reestablish local trade.