Heavy rains in Mozambique and South Africa have claimed more than fifty lives, and left at least one-hundred-thousand people homeless.

Large areas of the Mozambican capital, Maputo, and the nearby city of Matola are reported to have turned into swamps, and health authorities have warned of possible outbreaks of malaria and cholera.

Twenty-seven people are reported to have been killed in Mozambique; in South Africa, the number of dead has reached at least thirty.

The South African air force has been helping relief efforts in Mozambique.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service