Officials concerned over cholera outbreak

As the death toll from flooding in Mozambique over the past few days has climbed to 22, officials are now faced with the threat of waterborne diseases like cholera.

"About 200 cases of cholera have been reported across the country," a spokesman for Mozambique's National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC), Rogerio Manguele, told IRIN on Monday.

Heavy rain since mid-December has flooded the Pungue and Buzi rivers in central Mozambique; affecting 2,000 people and destroying several thousand houses in the northeastern province of Nampula, the central province of Sofala and Inhambane province in the south.

Access to clean drinking water has been a problem in Mozambique, where most rural communities traditionally rely on water holes. "Most of these [water holes] have been flooded - we urgently require chlorine tablets to purify water," said Fernanda Teixeiri, secretary-general of the Mozambique Red Cross.

Last week the government announced a five-month US $24 million contingency plan to deal with the after-effects of the flood and related health issues. Manguele noted that "almost $3 million from the total amount is to be released immediately to help rehabilitate infrastructure damaged by the floods across the country, so we have the money to buy anything we need".

"The rains are now concentrated in the south, and we have seen flooding in the Komati and Limpopo rivers," said Teixeiri.

According to the INGC, more heavy rain has been forecast over the next few days. "But we are in a state of high alert and preparedness," said Manguele.