MOZAMBIQUE: MORE FLOODING & CYCLONE ELINE EXPECTED

(21 Feb 2000) English/Nat

Flood-ravaged Mozambique is bracing itself for more torrential downpours of rain.

Cyclone Eline is headed for the coast and is expected to hit shore on Tuesday morning.

The cyclone had been downgraded to a tropical storm but was upgraded again on Monday afternoon after its pressure sank and its winds strengthened.

Late on Monday, it was situated 250 kilometres (400 miles) southeast of the port city of Beira.

Mozambique has been hit hard by floods in the past two weeks.

Much of Mozambique is now lying under water.

Heavy rains pounded the country over the past two weeks.

To make matters worse, the poor African nation is now being threatened by Cyclone Eline.

Though the cyclone is still at sea, it has already brought heavy rains and gale winds to the area between Beira and Vilanculos, nearly 300 kilometres (480 miles) south.

In particular, Cyclone Eline is wreaking havoc in the coastal province of Inhambane - and heavy rains, thunder and strong winds are expected to continue for at least the next 24 hours.

The central provinces of Zambezia and Sofala are also expecting the full force of the storm, which left seven
dead and thousands homeless as it passed over the island of Madagascar on Friday.

SOUNDBITE: (Xangane)
"The problem is water falling in the house and staying here without anything."
SUPERCAPTION: Voxpop

It's feared Eline might also hit the southern provinces of Gaza and Maputo, where more than 200-thousand people in the Limpopo Valley have been made homeless by the earlier flooding.

Search and rescue operations in Gaza province are continuing and helicopters and airplanes are being used to bring aid to the thousands of people who have found themselves without a home.

SOUNDBITE: (Xangane)
"We came out (of the floods) without anything. We don't even have food. The house we are staying in is still standing but there is no food because all the food got washed away."
SUPERCAPTION: Voxpop

The government says up to 800-thousand people have been affected by the floods and aid organisations say the situation is dire - with about 300-thousand people in need of food, aid and assistance.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Well the situation is really bad and its perhaps the worst thing I've seen in my entire life. We think something above 300-thousand people have been displaced or have lost their houses or perhaps they have lost everything or they at least need support or assistance."
SUPERCAPTION: Joao Manja, World Food Programme Aid Worker

In addition to the exceptionally heavy rains which have fallen over Mozambique itself, floodwaters rushing down from South Africa's highlands have aggravated the situation on Mozambique's low-lying coastal plain.

Health officials say the rains have also brought about malaria outbreaks in Sofala and the capital Maputo.

Vast areas of agricultural land have been destroyed in the floods, leading to acute hunger.

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