Mozambican army sent to pluck 1,700 reluctant families from floods

Maputo/Johannesburg_(dpa) _ Mozambique was Monday trying to reach 1,700 families in flood-hit areas that have ignored calls to evacuate despite the new threat of heavy rains caused by the passing of a tropical cyclone.

While tropical cyclone Fame was not expected to directly hit the coast but instead appeared headed for Madagascar across the Mozambique Channel, it was expected to dump more rains on central coastal areas, Mozambique's meteorological institute said.

The national disaster management institute INGC said the army was trying to reach 1,700 families that had refused to evacuate -preferring to stay behind to look after crops and livestock - to force them to move to resettlement areas on higher ground.

The Red Cross said it was trying to reach families cut off by rising waters on islands in the Chire river in the north and in a tributary of the mighty Zambezi but that the water was still not high enough for boat access.

Some 92,000 people in low-lying central regions have been rescued over the past month as summer rains in neighbouring countries caused early flooding along rivers that cut through Mozambique en route to the Indian Ocean.

Mozambique's own rainy season usually peaks in mid-February.

The arrival of fresh batches of evacuees in resettlement areas where thousands of victims of last year's flooding are already trying to build a new life has put pressure on resources, including food and building materials, anti-poverty agency German Agro Action (GAA) said.

In an attempt to anchor the evacuees in the resettlement areas the government bars NGOs from handing out free food. Instead the flood victims are required to work producing materials to build homes in return for food.

But some people are too weak or elderly to build homes, leaving them in urgent need of shelter with another month of heavy rains to go, said Petra Aschoff, GAA's national coordinator in Mozambique.

"We are asking now for money to buy materials for the most vulnerable people who don't have the power to build houses for themselves," she said.

Mozambique is prone to flooding during the summer rainy season. In 2000-01 the world watched in horror as floods killed 700 people and displaced 500,000 others.

This year's floods are expected to be even heavier, albeit far less deadly given the government's timely evacuation drive. So far 16 people have died from flood-related causes, according to the INGC.

But aid agencies fear the long-term impact on food security could be severe. dpa cb wjh