Africa News
Hundreds in Zimbabwe, Mozambique flee deadly floods
Jan 2, 2008, 20:29 GMT
Maputo/Harare - At least 700 villagers have fled their homes in south-eastern Zimbabwe amid deadly floods that have killed dozens of people and left over 1,000 families in neighbouring Mozambique stranded, reports said Wednesday.
In Zimbabwe, helicopters have been flying relief supplies to residents in the Chipinge and Middle Sabi areas, who left their homes after the Save River burst its banks, state media reported. The villagers made for government-owned farms on higher ground.
At least 27 people have drowned in Zimbabwe during what was said to be the wettest December on record.
In the north of the country, floods have wrecked hundreds of homes and destroyed farmland in the low-lying Zambezi River valley. Houses in parts of the capital Harare have also been damaged.
The situation in Zimbabwe is having a knock-on effect in neighbouring Mozambique, itself prone to devastating floods during the summer rainy season.
Over 1,000 families in central Manica province bordering Zimbabwe have been cut off from the outside world since December 27 by floodwaters that have washed away roads and bridges, Radio Mozambique reported.
Rivers that flow through both Zimbabwe and Mozambique, including the Save and the Zambezi, were said to be dangerously swollen.
The flooding has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) in Harare to warn of an increased risk of malaria in southern Africa this summer.
Early last year several dozen people were killed in Mozambique in flooding and a cyclone.
© 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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