More floods hit Mozambique

A river in central Mozambique has overflowed for the third time in a month, flooding a key supply route.

The waters of the Pungue River submerged a stretch of the road between the towns of Mutua and Tica, about 40 miles west of Beira. The road links the port of Beira to Zimbabwe.

Over the past three months, flooding in Mozambique has killed more than 70 people, and almost 400,000 others have lost homes, crops or livelihood.

The country is still recovering from last year's devastating floods that killed 700 and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

Rain has been falling since the middle of last week in the basins of the Pungue and Buzi rivers, which was likely to lead to more flooding.

In the central Zambezia province, the road leading to the provincial capital Quelimane was reopened to light vehicles after a three-week closure. The closures had sent the prices of food and other goods soaring in the town.

Filipe Lucio, the director of the National Institute of Meteorology, told the radio station that rains in neighbouring Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe continued to pose a threat as the water fed Mozambique's already swollen rivers.

To date, international donors have provided about £7.7m in flood relief. In February, the government said about £25.5m was needed to aid flood victims and repair essential infrastructure.