Officials in Mozambique say they have received four air force helicopters from South Africa to provide relief to areas devastated by flooding.

The helicopters were immediately sent to work in southern and central Mozambique.

The Maputo government has appealed for two-point-seven million dollars so it can supply aid to people whose homes have been washed away and to rescue thousands cut off by floodwaters.

Meanwhile, heavy rains have continued to deluge northern South Africa and Botswana.

Floods in Botswana have blocked almost all road traffic to the capital, Gaborone -- and the nation's only railway line has been washed away.

Botswana has also appealed for international aid. Across the region, more than seventy people have been killed and tens of thousands made homeless.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service