1,800 Rescued in Mozambique Flooding; Death Toll Rises

Helicopter crews plucked at least 1,800 people to safety Sunday as swollen rivers swept away almost everything in their paths in flood-ravaged Mozambique.

A new storm system began building off the coast.

Many more people gripped whatever high ground they could find as waters continued to rise in the Save and Limpopo rivers of this southeast African country, one of the world’s most impoverished nations. They have been stranded for a week and desperately need food.

The known death toll in Mozambique and neighboring South Africa and Zimbabwe reached 200 from flooding in the last week. Police said Sunday that at least 33 people died and 20 were missing after a bus was swept off a flooded bridge two days earlier in northeastern Zimbabwe. Twenty passengers survived.

The floods also have left a trail of death in Botswana and Swaziland.

Airlift coordinator Col. Jacobus Klopper said helicopter crews had rescued at least 1,800 people before dusk forced them back to Maputo, Mozambique’s capital.

UNICEF’s Ian Macleod estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 people were stranded near the Save. About 3,000 more were marooned after the Limpopo burst its banks. The rivers are in the south.

The level of the Limpopo River rose rapidly early Sunday morning, submerging the town of Chokwe and dozens of villages in Gaza province.

The United Nations appealed for more helicopters and aircraft.