Floods wreak havoc in Zambia

MAZABUKA, Zambia, Jan 26, 2008 (AFP)

Jerry Mweemba, an 82-year-old peasant farmer, stoically chews on his pipe as he surveys the line of grass-thatched huts waist-high in brown rainwater in Zambia's impoverished Mazabuka region.

"Initially, we thought it was the usual rains until we realised that water was entering into our homes," says Mweemba from under the shade of a large acacia tree in the flood-ravaged village of Mbiya.

"This year's rains have been too much. Our houses and crops have been destroyed," adds Mweembe, who has been living in Mbiya for the last three decades. "I have lost all my belongings."

Along with dozens of his fellow villagers made homeless by the devastating floods in the south of the country, Mweeba is now living under the canvas of tents provided by the Zambia Red Cross Society.

About 1.5 million Zambians are estimated to be affected by the floods and the government says it needs 13 million dollars to finance a contingency plan to help the victims.

Widespread flooding in neighbouring Mozambique and Zimbabwe has also left at least nine people dead and many thousands more homeless.

During a tour of the affected areas last week, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa called for international aid to help ease the suffering of his people from what he described as a national disaster.

"We are living like refugees in our own country," said 31-year-old Maria Choongo, a mother of two preparing a meal at a makeshift kitchen at Mbiya Basic School where the tents have been erected for the homeless.

Roads in the area have become impassable after a nearby river burst its banks and a pool of water swept through parts of the lower plains, destroying property.

Herds of cattle have also been evacuated to higher ground in scenes that have been repeated across large swathes of the southern African country.

"We have over 3,000 people who have been displaced in Mazabuka alone," said Misheck Chiinda, a district commissioner in the area.

The authorities say the 13 million-dollar contingency plan would help bring immediate relief to the flood victims as well as prevent the danger of disease breaking out.

"The money will mainly be used to buy relief food, blankets, tents, mosquito nets and chlorine to treat drinking water," said Austin Sichinga, a permanent secretary in-charge of disaster management.

Indications are that the situation will soon worsen especially in the western parts of the country because water levels in neighbouring countries are rising and may start overflowing into Zambia, Sichinga said.

Despite the damage caused to property, most Zambians living in areas near fertile river banks have not heeded early warnings to relocate to higher grounds.

According to Songowayo Zyambo, executive director of the Zambia National Farmers Union, the heavy rains are likely going to affect the crop production for the 2008/9 farming seasons.

"If the current situation continues there will be implications in the agricultural industry," he added.

Zambia has in recent years produced a food surplus and exported maize to neighbouring countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Zimbabwe.