MAPUTO, Mozambique (PANA) - The
official death toll from the flooding that has affected much of southern
and central Mozambique since early February has now risen to 640, according
to a government spokesperson.
Antonio Macheve, of the National Disaster
Management Institute (INGC), told the Mozambican news Agency Thursday that
380 people were known to have died in the southern province of Gaza alone.
Most of the deaths in Gaza occurred in the beleaguered district of Chokwe,
where some 200 people lost their lives in massive flooding of the Limpopo
river.
It was expected that with the waters receding, it would be possible to recover more bodies buried beneath the layers of mud, but renewed flooding is now hindering search efforts.
Macheve said that the death toll is likely to rise since there are 95 people who were still missing.
"That's why we fear that the death toll will rise further.
But meanwhile, there are on-going searches to locate the bodies", he said.
Some two million people were affected by the flooding, including one million in need of assistance.
About 450,000 of these have been displaced from their homes.
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