Heavy rains have been falling in southern Africa for over four weeks, and on Sunday, Feb. 27, a fresh wave of flood waters swept into the country, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and forcing thousands to take refuge in trees in hopes of being rescued. Despite the urgency, the rescue effort has been slow to get under way. For the past week, five South African Air Force helicopters have been nearly alone in their efforts to rescue people from amid the flood waters. The death toll from the flood is 350, but that is sure to rise once the waters recede and the country gets a chance to survey the damage. Aid workers say that this flood is the worst natural disaster to hit Mozambique in living memory.
Workers also expect the flood to cause outbreaks of diseases, including malaria and cholera.
Officials in one area of the country said that malaria rates are already four times as high as normal. The slow pace of the rescue efforts has led relief agencies to criticize the sluggish response by foreign governments to Mozambique's crisis. The Limpopo river, which runs through Mozambique, has swelled to 80 miles wide in places, and the rain continues in southern Africa. Experts expect another wave of water to converge on Mozambique from neighboring countries within a week, and another cyclone is building off the coast. Compiled by Klaas Hoekema, World News Editor.