JOHANNESBURG – Several southern African countries are dealing with the effects of flooding following heavy rains over much of the region in the past week. Report by IRIN
In South Africa’s northern Limpopo Province, floodwaters claimed 10 lives and left hundreds stranded after the Limpopo River burst its banks.
By yesterday the rain had subsided, but rescue operations were still underway in Musina, near South Africa’s border with Zimbabwe, said Tseng Diale, spokesperson for the province’s Disaster Management Centre.
Across the border in Zimbabwe’s Beitbridge district, the rains damaged roads and left some areas impassable.
A United Nations situation report estimated that by January 20, nearly 20 000 people throughout Mozambique had been affected by the heavy rains.
Nearly 6 000 had been displaced, the majority of them in the capital, Maputo, where the drainage system was overwhelmed by 157mm of rain falling in less than 24 hours.
Nine temporary shelters have been set up in the city and authorities have declared an “orange alert” with the aim of scaling-up monitoring measures and strengthening preparedness in case the situation worsens.
Northern Botswana also experienced heavy downpours that resulted in severe flooding of the Dukwi Refugee Camp, about 130km outside Francistown.
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According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), about 120 refugee homes were inundated by floodwaters and pumps have stopped working, leading to a shortage of clean water in the camp.
Skillshare International, a non-governmental organisation that provides vocational training programmes in the camp, is sheltering 400 of the displaced in its classrooms and UNHCR is providing food and trying to establish temporary ablution facilities.
