Raging Floods, Heavy Rains hit southern Africa*

By Shapi Shacinda
Reuters
Monday, January 7, 2008; 12:38 PM

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia said 1.5 million people would be displaced by
floods and aid agencies warned the lives of tens of thousands were in
danger on Monday as rising waters inundated southern Africa.

Zambia put half of its territory on alert, while floods in Mozambique,
fed by heavy rains from there and Zimbabwe, killed six people and cut
major transport links to neighboring countries, relief officials said.

The early heavy rains have swollen rivers to alarming levels across the
region, catching authorities off guard and forcing governments and aid
agencies to step up efforts to avert crisis.

"At least 1.5 million will be displaced by the floods and the government
and aid groups will have to provide relief food and shelter to the
families in tents for some time," said a senior Zambian government
official who wished not to be named.

Waters that had reached a depth of six meters (18 feet) forced some
people to seek refuge on trees and rooftops in Mozambique, where the
United Nations said it would take urgent measures to help victims of the
floods.

The U.N. noted an estimated 56,000 people had been affected, including
13,000 who had been relocated to resettlement centers, after heavy rains
led to a sharp rise in water levels on the Zambezi, Pungue, Buzi and
Save rivers.

"Governments and international humanitarian organizations are scaling up
their efforts to ensure a swift response and save lives," said John
Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
and Emergency Relief Coordinator said in a statement issued in New York
and Johannesburg.

In early 2007, floods in central Mozambique killed 45 people and left
285,000 homeless, while cyclone Favio displaced another 140,000 people.

It was the worst flooding to hit the former Portuguese colony since
floods in 2000-2001 killed 700 people and drove half a million from
their homes.

International aid agencies also expressed worry over erratic weather
patterns in southern Africa, which have devastated harvest prospects for
millions of people.

"We are greatly concerned at the emergency responses this early in the
rainy season," said Kelly David, Head of the United Nations Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for Southern Africa.

"If this continues, we can expect a substantial impact."

Guy Robinson, president of umbrella farmers group the Zambia National
Farmers Union (ZNFU), told Reuters heavy rains had wiped out some
plantings. He said the most affected area was southern Zambia, one of
the country's major farming regions.

"We are very concerned that the entire crop has been destroyed in some
areas due to heavy flooding and it is still raining heavily," Robinson said.

(Reporting by Johannesburg newsroom and Shapi Shacinda in Lusaka,
Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Michael Winfrey)