Thousands Stranded in Mozambique Floods

Helicopters worked Friday to rescue flood victims from among thousands of Mozambicans taking refuge on islands of dry land that were rapidly shrinking as nearby rivers continued to rise.

Environment Minister John Kachamila pleaded with aid agencies during a meeting Friday evening to drop provisions for the thousands trapped without food in the Inhangoma area, a valley where the Zambezi and Shire rivers join.

“Evacuation of people from this zone is very urgent,” he said. “The situation is very critical. If we don’t take steps to bring food to Inhangoma, we might have a disaster.”

Water from the Shire River is flooding the valley in the northwestern Tete province, and the area has become an island that is shrinking, he said. “It’s rising and spreading, little by little.”

At least 52 people have died and 81,000 people have lost their homes in the floods, which began early this year as this southeast African nation struggles to recover from devastating floods last year.

Mozambican helicopters evacuated 67 people Friday, officials said. Many of those reached by a World Food Program helicopter declined to be evacuated, and the helicopter airlifted less than 30 people to drier ground Friday.

Kachamila said a village chief told him Wednesday that 10 people had died of lack of food and medication. The reported deaths have not been confirmed.

A South African relief operation finally kicked in Friday, with an air force cargo plane delivering equipment at the Beira airport before heading back to Pretoria.

A South African Cessna equipped with a loudspeaker began flying over flooded areas to inform people why they should leave and where they could get food, said Maj. Hugo Weich, an air force spokesman.

The South Africans plan to set up a logistical center in the central Mozambican town of Caia, where they will base two of four helicopters used to search for and rescue stranded people. Two larger planes will ferry fuel to Caia, while a small plane will be used for reconnaissance, Weich said.

Last year’s floods in Mozambique killed 700 people and destroyed roads, houses and crops in the central and southern parts of the country. Although these floods are not expected to become as bad, the new damage will make it even more difficult for the poor former Portuguese colony to recover.

U.N. officials said Thursday that 60,000 people needed to be moved to dry ground, though they were not in immediate danger.

Although water was rising more slowly Friday than the day before, Kachamila said, the rate would accelerate again today.