Concern over Mozambique's floods

Flooding last March devastated Mozambique

Rescue operations are continuing in Mozambique in the wake of floods in the Zambezi Valley which have killed 40 people and left more than 300,000 homeless.

The authorities say they are concerned that, with flood waters still rising, peasant families are reluctant to leave their homes in areas under serious threat.

Maputo has said the authorities in Zambia and Zimbabwe have agreed to its request to cut the volume of water flowing into Mozambique, by closing one of the two floodgates on the giant Kariba Dam upstream - which Lusaka and Harare jointly control.

Meanwhile, the second largest city, Beira, has been cut off from the rest of the country by rising flood waters after the government ordered the closure of the main road linking it to neighbouring Zimbabwe.

The rising waters of the Pungue river have left 16 km of the road already under water, and it is considered too risky to try and get vehicles through.

This has cut off a major source of supplies for tens of thousands of people who have lost their homes and possessions in outlying areas.

Minister of Public Works and Housing, Roberto White, said flood water was already one metre deep in many places, and rising.

The torrent has destroyed the surface of the road in many places and created huge pot holes, making it extremely dangerous to use.

Desperate need

The situation in the provinces of Tete and Zambezia in particular is critical, with people desperately in need of food, shelter and medicine.

The governor of the central province of Manica, Soares Nhaca, says measures are being taken to minimise the effects of the floods in Dombe and Tambara districts.

Mr Nhaca made the announcement after overflying the worst flood affected areas of the province, where 200,000 people are at risk.

Fears are growing that as the rain continues to fall in the central and southern regions, Mozambique will suffer a repetition of the flooding which so devastated the country last year.

Seven hundred people died as floods caused millions of dollars of damage which the government says has set development of the country back by decades.