Flood update

Recent heavy rains and severe flooding has displaced thousands of people over large parts of Mozambique, with more rain forecast over large parts of the country. In its latest situation report the Office of the Resident Coordinator in Mozambique said that 23,000 people had been displaced in the eastern Zambezia province, 5,000 in the northwestern Tete province and 2,000 in the southern Sofala province. The report said that 28 people have died in the floods so far this year. The report said that key issues were access by air and road to districts in the Zambezi valley, the maintenance of stocks of fuel for aircraft and boats in the affected areas and supplying tents and plastic sheets to families made homeless. Zambezia province The report said the government's disaster management authority the INGC had so far distributed 98 mt of relief goods to people in the province, 82 mt of this by helicopter. It said that one INGC helicopter was still operating out of the provincial capital, Quelimane. It noted that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) had provided a C-130 transport plane that was transporting food and non-food items to Quelimane from the capital Maputo and coastal city of Beira. FAO, the report said, estimated that 9,440 hectares of crops had been lost and that an estimated 12,900 farming kits will be needed at an estimated cost of US $374,100. It added that 1.5 mt of medicines had been sent to the Namacurra district, north of the provincial capital. UNICEF, it added, was distributing soap, chlorofloc sachets, chlorine, tap-stands, water bladders and collapsible jerry cans. Zambezi valley In the Mutarara district in the lower Zambezi valley an estimated 22,600 people were affected, the report noted. It added that 1,807 hectares of crops had been destroyed and that the districts airstrip had been flooded. In Caia district, south of Mutarara 272 houses were flooded and 1,600 people evacuated. "One month's supply of food (550 mt) for 22,500 people had already been prepositioned in Mutarara by WFP. Supplies were also prepositioned in Zumbo districts (247 mt) where the Zambezi flooded in January and Magoe (150 mt) also in Tete province," the report said. It added that a caravan aircraft provided by USAID to WFP had so far transported 4 mt of rice to Caia and would continue to shuttle between Beira and Caia carrying mainly food and cooking kits. The report noted that the road between Caia and Sena to the north was flooded and "impassable". Sofala province FAO estimated that 70 hectares of crops had been lost in Sofala province and that 130 farming kits would be needed at a cost of US $3,770. The report said that WFP had repositioned 270 mt of food at Machanga in the southern part of the province, 348 mt in Govuro in the north of Inhambane province and 225 mt in Machaze in the south of Manica province.