Almost all crops are ruined. The roads on which we travelled from the airport were covered, for kilometres and as far as the eye could see, with huts built of plastic. People have nothing left, he said. They sleep where they can - on the floor, in flooded roads. There is no furniture left.
Drinking water is non-existent for the most part.
For may, their drinking water is non-existent because the toilets and sewers have become mixed with drinking water. In some areas, relief workers have supplied purifying plants, so that contaminated water can be rendered potable. Archbishop Ndungane has praised the work of relief workers, including many from the United States. But he was told that he was the first leader from Africa to visit the stricken island, and to show an interest in their plight. Nevertheless, he has been forcibly struck by the esteem in which the people hold President Mandela, and the fact that a South African is visiting the island.