Moz and Zim rescue efforts hampered

IN BEIRA, Mozambique’s fourth-largest city and home to about 500 000 people, a large dam burst, complicating rescue efforts.

Large strips of land were submerged, and in some streets, people waded through knee-high water around mangled metal and other debris.

On Monday morning, rescuers launched dinghies onto chest-high waters, navigating through reeds and trees. Some people perched on branches to escape the water.

Meanwhile, rescuers were struggling to reach people in Zimbabwe’s Chimanimani district, cut off by torrential rains and winds of up to 170km/h that swept away roads, homes and bridges, and knocked out power and communication lines.

Zimbabwe’s Treasury has released $18 million (R260m) to rebuild roads and bridges, and provide water, sanitation and electricity. Families began burying the dead, and the death toll is expected to rise.

Many Zimbabweans have slept in the mountains since Friday after their homes were flattened by rockfalls and mudslides or washed away.

The government has declared a state of disaster in areas affected by the storm. Zimbabwe, a country of 15 million people, was suffering a severe drought that has wilted crops.

Beira, which sits at the mouth of the Pungwe River, is also home to Mozambique’s second-largest port, serving as gateway for imports to landlocked countries in south-east Africa.

The director of a company that jointly manages the port, Cornelder, in the Netherlands, said the port had been closed but it was hoped that operations would resume yesterday.

The fuel pipeline running from Beira to Zimbabwe was believed to be intact, the person said, although communication was patchy. |