RSS 2.0 FeedMarch 2010 Vol 7, National News
Pungwe River Floods Beira-Zimbabwe Road
Maputo — The Pungue river burst its banks on Thursday and flooded a stretch of the Beira-Zimbabwe road, between Mutua and Tica, in the central Mozambican province of Sofala.
Maputo — The Pungue river burst its banks on Thursday and flooded a stretch of the Beira-Zimbabwe road, between Mutua and Tica, in the central Mozambican province of Sofala.
About three kilometres of the road are under water, yet some cars and trucks continued to risk the journey - although it is clear that if the river rises much higher, the authorities will be forced to close this stretch of the road altogether.
According to the National Water Board (DNA), the Pungue rose by 82 centimetres in 48 hours. At the Mafambisse sugar plantation on Thursday it was measured at 8.15 metres. Flood alert level at Mafambisse is six metres.
Heavy rains in central Mozambique continue to raise the levels of the Buzi and Zambezi rivers. The DNA warns of a worsening flood in low-lying areas of Buzi town, and in the localities of Goonda, Grudja and Estaquinha in the Buzi valley.
The level of the Cahora Bassa lake has continued to rise, forced the administration of the Cahora Bassa dam to increase discharges from the floodgates to 2,736 cubic metres of water a second. This is bound to worsen the flooding in Caia and Marromeu districts on the lower Zambezi.
In Manica province, the ANE ordered the temporary opening to traffic of unfinished bridges over the Lucite and Mussapa rivers. The rise in these rivers had cut off Mossurize district from the rest of the country. As always happens during floods on the Lucite, the ferry service across the river has been suspended.
The use of the unfinished bridges will be allowed until the ferry service resumes. The ANE has ordered that the bridges can only be used between 05.00 and 17.00. Motorists have been warned to take great care, because of the presence of heavy machinery used in finishing work on the bridges.
In another isolated district, Tambara, in the northern part of Manica, the country's relief agency, the National Disasters Management Institute (INGC), has mobilized motor boats to allow people to cross the Muira river.
The INGC Manica delegate, David Antonio, cited in Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", said that the rise in the Zambezi has inundated the Tambara district capital, Nhacolo, and the lower part of the town is being evacuated. Among those who have had to abandon their homes and seek higher ground is the Tambara district administrator, Gilberto Canhenze.
