Nearly 9,000 isolated because of rains

An estimated 8,500 people in areas surrounding Xai-Xai district in Mozambique’s southern Gaza province have been cut off by heavy rains in recent days. “The roads to these people have become impassable. The roads were pretty bad to begin with, but these recent rains have made them worse,” Inyene Udoyen a spokesman for WFP in Maputo told IRIN on Friday.

During the severe floods in January and February which killed over 700 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless, the Xai-Xai district was one of the worst affected areas. Udoyen said there were also small pockets of people who had been isolated in the Chibuto area, north of Xai-Xai. “We have to remember, though that these are isolated incidents,” Udoyen remarked.

A spokesman from the Mozambican disaster management authority, the INGC, told IRIN this week the INGC’s main concern at the moment was that the areas affected by the floods earlier this year were still sodden and would not be able to cope with more heavy rain. “We are monitoring the situation very closely,” the spokesman said.

Heavy rains in recent days have killed an estimated 10 people and destroyed about 100 homes, Radio Mozambique said this week.