Oxfam launched an appeal on Mozambique television for the owners of boats to assist the helicopters in rescuing the thousands of people still stranded. Many are huddled in groups on ever-shrinking patches of high land in the centre and south of the country. Rescue workers are predicting that the worst is still yet to come, with new flooding due to arrive in Mozambique as the heavy rain from Zimbabwe and South Africa flows down the rivers and pours into the flood plain covering much of the southern part of the country. There are people stranded in trees and on homes. A lot of people are getting killed.
Officials refuse to speculate how many people have already been swept away.
Thousands have been displaced While Mozambique has borne the brunt of the flooding, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana were badly hit last week. At least 200 people are known to have died in the flooding across southern Africa. Two Malawi air force helicopters arrived in the country on Sunday, in addition to five deployed by South Africa. A Unicef spokesman in Mozambique said the South African Government had six more helicopters which should reach the area on Monday or Tuesday. The BBC's Greg Barrow says that by the time the extra help arrives, thousands of people could have drowned of starved to death after being trapped in trees or on the roofs of their houses.