From Africa Recovery, Vol.14#1 (April 2000), Briefs page

Floods devastate south-eastern Africa

The heavy rains began in January. In February, cyclone Eline swept across Madagascar and south-eastern Africa, bringing the worst flooding in decades. Then came cyclone Gloria. By mid-March, they had left at least 800 people dead and disrupted the lives of over 2.5 million people in Botswana, Namibia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. As a result, the region's development will be hindered for years to come.

Mozambique was hit the hardest. Almost one million of its 17 million people lost their homes and some 500,000 Mozambicans will need food aid for six months in a country that had been self-sufficient in food production since 1997. Losses in crops, property, bridges, long stretches of major roads and other infrastructure were put in billions of dollars. The flooding also displaced many of the country's one to two million landmines, turning areas that had been considered safe into potential minefields.

Countries struggling with their own crises came to Mozambique's aid, donating hundreds of tons of food and millions of dollars worth of medicine. South Africa led Africa's rescue and relief efforts, using seven helicopters to rescue 13,000 people and delivering over 600 tons of food. Malawi, one of the region's poorest countries, donated 50 tons of maize and sent two helicopters to rescue over a thousand flood victims.

Western donors were accused of ignoring the crisis in Mozambique until television crews beamed images of flood victims stranded in trees. "The response [of Western donors] was far too slow," said Malawi's President Bakili Muluzi at an emergency meeting of the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) in March. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan concurred, but called the donor countries' subsequent response to the disaster "very generous," with more than $107 mn pledged to Mozambique by early March.

Flood damage to crops and infrastructure caused at least 100 deaths and affected some 250,000 people in Zimbabwe. About 200,000 people in Madagascar will depend on food aid for months and in north-eastern Botswana, over 70,000 people lost their homes. In South Africa's Northern Province, scores of people drowned and tens of thousands were left homeless, as were some 1,500 people in Malawi.

By mid-March, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Botswana had received contributions of about $900,000, $700,000 and $300,000 respectively. Far more is required, however. Zimbabwe said in mid-March that it needed $22 mn in immediate humanitarian assistance and to rebuild destroyed infrastructure. Mozambique put its reconstruction costs at some $250 mn. SADC leaders called on major creditor countries to cancel Mozambique's $8 bn debt. Instead, the Paris Club of bilateral creditors and the World Bank announced the suspension -- but not the cancellation -- debt-service payments falling due this year.

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