jjcollins
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 26, 1999
- Messages
- 1,394
Appeal for Mozambique flood victims
International aid agencies in Mozambique say they need extra helicopters to rescue thousands stranded in floods.
Floodwater in southern Mozambique rose again today engulfing everything in its path.
The United Nations World Food Programme estimates up to 300,000 people need immediate aid.
"We need more helicopters, we need more humanitarian aid. What we have now is not enough. If this humanitarian aid is not increased, hundreds of thousands of people may die," said Christiane Berthiaume, spokesperson for the WFP.
Correspondents say the coastal town of Xai Xai has almost disappeared, and the exodus from the town of Chokwe - which was engulfed in floods over the weekend - is continuing unabated.
Relief agencies are trying to set up clean-water stations and shelter, but the sheer number of people is overwhelming.
Panic among those fleeing the rising waters has separated children from their parents, and relief agencies are having to set up programmes to try to reunite families.
At one camp in the south for people who have lost their homes, the number of people rose from 2,000 to 15,000 in less than 48 hours.
More helicopters and light aircraft are being deployed in Mozambique, with missions flying out of the capital, Maputo, moving up a gear.
But the BBC's Greg Barrow, reporting from Mozambique, says helicopter pilots flying over the flood plain are being forced to make stark choices about whom to save.
Those trapped in the water come first, while anybody who has managed to clamber to safety in trees or on the roofs of houses is considered relatively safe.
The United Nations says donor governments have pledged $13.5m to UN agencies responding to the floods.
But after a meeting in Geneva, a UN spokesman said only about $4.5m had so far been received.
jj.........
International aid agencies in Mozambique say they need extra helicopters to rescue thousands stranded in floods.
Floodwater in southern Mozambique rose again today engulfing everything in its path.
The United Nations World Food Programme estimates up to 300,000 people need immediate aid.
"We need more helicopters, we need more humanitarian aid. What we have now is not enough. If this humanitarian aid is not increased, hundreds of thousands of people may die," said Christiane Berthiaume, spokesperson for the WFP.
Correspondents say the coastal town of Xai Xai has almost disappeared, and the exodus from the town of Chokwe - which was engulfed in floods over the weekend - is continuing unabated.
Relief agencies are trying to set up clean-water stations and shelter, but the sheer number of people is overwhelming.
Panic among those fleeing the rising waters has separated children from their parents, and relief agencies are having to set up programmes to try to reunite families.
At one camp in the south for people who have lost their homes, the number of people rose from 2,000 to 15,000 in less than 48 hours.
More helicopters and light aircraft are being deployed in Mozambique, with missions flying out of the capital, Maputo, moving up a gear.
But the BBC's Greg Barrow, reporting from Mozambique, says helicopter pilots flying over the flood plain are being forced to make stark choices about whom to save.
Those trapped in the water come first, while anybody who has managed to clamber to safety in trees or on the roofs of houses is considered relatively safe.
The United Nations says donor governments have pledged $13.5m to UN agencies responding to the floods.
But after a meeting in Geneva, a UN spokesman said only about $4.5m had so far been received.
jj.........
