Mozambique Calls for Evacuation as River Rises

Almost a month after it flooded and submerged villages, the Limpopo River threatened to burst its banks again Wednesday, endangering thousands of people who were trying to put their lives back together.

A surge of water was flowing downstream into Mozambique after heavy rains in neighboring Zimbabwe and South Africa, Foreign Minister Leonardo Simao said.

Government officials were urging people to leave low-lying southern Mozambican towns that they expect will be engulfed again by the Limpopo River.

The town of Chokwe, which was hit by a wall of water late last month, was immediately threatened, Simao said, adding that the surge would hit the town of Xai-Xai within a few days.

“We are informed [that] people are leaving Chokwe. If all people do not pull out today, we may lose lives,” Simao told a briefing of aid workers. “We may be forced to create new relief and rescue operations, which should be avoided.”

By nightfall Wednesday, water levels in the Limpopo River were rising, but observers aboard reconnaissance planes sent out by aid agencies and the South African air force said they had seen no sign of the expected surge. But the warning was being taken seriously.

During last month’s flooding, thousands of people were forced to seek refuge in trees and on rooftops until they were rescued by helicopters. The death toll was nearly 500.

The government has urged people to stay away until the rainy season ends late this month, but an estimated 10,000 Chokwe residents have returned anyway.

Meanwhile, Mozambique asked international donors for $100 million more in emergency aid to help this impoverished southeast African country cope with the fallout of the floods.

The additional money was needed to ensure ongoing emergency aid, Simao said.

The estimate of people still displaced by the floods was increased from 360,000 to 450,000 out of a total population of 19 million.