Mozambique floods destroyed over 1,300 homes

AllAfrica.com: Last week's flooding in Namacurra and Maganja da Costa districts in the central Mozambican province of Zambezia destroyed 1,340 houses, the spokesperson for the Mozambican government, Deputy Foreign Minister Henrique Banze, told reporters on Tuesday.

Torrential rains caused the Licungo river to burst its banks, submerging over 7,000 hectares of crops, 6,500 of which are regarded as lost. The floods had inundated 5,000 houses, 450 classrooms and seven health units. Roads in the two districts had become impassable.

Taking the country as a whole, Banze said said that 5,000 families had been affected by heavy rains and flooding since the rainy season began in October.

He said the government is seriously concerned at outbreaks of cholera reported in Zambezia and the neighbouring province of Nampula. 43 cases had been diagnosed, but so far there were no deaths. “Civic education and water purification measures are being taken so that other people are not affected by the disease”, said Banze.

The government is continuing to monitor the situation, he added, and will take measures to ensure that the food and health needs of flood victims are met. The weather forecast for the next few days is continued rainfall throughout the country, but particularly in the central and northern provinces....

NASA image of 2010 flooding in Mozambique