Displaced still arriving in centres

An estimated 200,000 flood-stricken Mozambicans are sheltering in some 78 temporary accommodation centres in the Zambeze river valley, and more are arriving on a daily basis, the latest IFRC report said this week. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) noted: “Trends generally indicate that there are three main factors behind the continued rise in the number of displaced people, all of which are associated with the floods in the Zambeze river basin.” First, Mozambicans who were previously rescued in February had since returned home on their own initiative to tend to their livestock and crops, only to discover that they were still (or once again) flooded, the IFRC said. Second, others who had originally refused to accept evacuation fearing for their livestock, crops, and house have since had to be rescued. Finally, people’s scarce crops and food reserves left after the floods have been used up. “So while they may still have a home to live in, they have a shortage of food. Consequently, they have made their way to the temporary accommodation centres, in search of help,” the report added. These factors have created a fluid movement of people, with the number of beneficiaries in the different centres varying on a daily basis, resulting in the Government’s Emergency Committee (INGC) and humanitarian organisations finding the whole strategic planning process “a considerable challenge”. The Federation and Mozambican Red Cross have told the authorities they can assist a limit of 46,324 beneficiaries in the eight centres the Red Cross co-manages.