Rescue team on standby

THIRTY search-and-rescue personnel placed on standby. Sixteen rubber ducks and aquatic rescue equipment. Two ambulances and two rescue jet skis.

Gift of the Givers yesterday said its teams were ready to be deployed to Mozambique, where seven people have died in heavy rains and fierce storms during tropical storm Dineo. The storm has destroyed 20 000 homes and affected about 130 000 people.

“But we will only enter Mozambique if that government makes a call for international assistance,” said Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder of Gift of the Givers.

In the past, Mozambique had been reluctant to accept international help, and the call often came late. “We have several corporations on standby waiting to support our efforts in Mozambique.”

Ahmed Khan, of the rescue division of the organisation, said: “We’ve been ready (to go) for the past two days. We’ve activated all our teams. We’re doing final preparations in case we’re needed in Mozambique.”

Khan said its teams in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal kept them updated on Dineo’s movement. “The situation in Limpopo is controllable. There has been normal rainfall and a bit of change in weather but nothing crazy.”

Jacques Bernadie, spokesperson for the provincial disaster management centre in Mpumalanga, said the storm came as a relief to the drought. “Ex-Dineo has been more of a benefit to Mpumalanga than a curse. We remain on full alert and standby. We still have a river downflow to contend with.” – Additional reporting by Sheree Bega