U.S. Planes, Troops Join Flood Relief Effort in Mozambique
U.S. airplanes flew over flood-stricken areas of Mozambique on Tuesday, beaming back live video images of marooned people and demolished terrain.
The information gathered by a specially equipped Hercules C-130 will be passed on to aid agencies in Maputo, the Mozambican capital, said Air Force Col. Gary Sadler.
Meanwhile, five other cargo planes ferried supplies from Hoedspruit air base in South Africa to Maputo and the central Mozambican city of Beira. The first two U.S. helicopters arrived Tuesday at Hoedspruit.
Up to 600 U.S. soldiers are expected to join the relief mission in Mozambique, and about 350 troops were deployed in the region by Tuesday afternoon.
The U.S. said Tuesday that it will forgive Mozambique’s remaining debt of less than $2 million.
Mozambique’s floods have left hundreds confirmed dead and 1 million people either homeless or in need of help. Aid agency officials expect the death toll to increase into the thousands.
By Tuesday, food shipments had reached 350,000 people, said Namanga Ngongi, a U.N. World Food Program official.
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