50 dead in Mozambique floods.

Roughly 50 people are thought to have died in heavy flooding in Mozambique according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The problem is particularly acute along the Zambezi valley where tens of thousands of people have been displaced over the last ten days. Some have been evacuated to temporary shelters away from the river; others have simply retreated to higher ground and remain stranded by the rising waters without adequate food, shelter or drinking water.

The flooding is the result of heavy seasonal rains in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, where experts now fear a repeat of the devastating floods of 2000 when around 700 people died and half a million more were displaced.

Relief efforts have been stepped up in light of the critical situation, with 3,000 tonnes of emergency food aid due to be distributed from a base in Caia in Sofala province.

Zambia and Zimbabwe have also been affected by flooding.

More rain is forecast for the coming days.