THOUSANDS FLEE ZAMBEZI FLOODING!

Some 45,000 people in Mozambique have been displaced by flooding along the Zambezi valley, authorities say. They say between 150,000 and 200,000 people could be affected over the coming weeks if forecast rains fall in upper reaches of the valley.

The Zambezi has already burst its banks in some areas forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Villagers have described climbing trees and running to higher ground to escape the floodwaters. And the river is continuing to rise.

Antonio, a villager in Sofala in central Mozambique said the effect of the rains had been terrible. "People had to climb trees and run to high ground," he told Reuters news agency. "People don't have anywhere to go - we just hope help will come."

January is usually the middle of the wet season for southern Africa but is rarely as wet as this, says the BBC's Peter Greste in central Mozambique. Floodwaters have destroyed homes, livestock and infrastructure.

Across northern Zimbabwe, southern Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, relentless rain has waterlogged fields, destroyed fields and washed out roads and villages. Damage to crops and roads has raised fears of food shortages, and aid agencies have also warned of increased risk of waterborne diseases and diseases caused by poor sanitation.

The Zambian government has appealed for $13m (£6.6m) in foreign aid to help deal with the effects of flooding, which officials say has displaced thousands of people. Zambia's head of disaster management, Austin Sichinga, said that the heavy rains had also caused extensive damage to infrastructure.

In low-lying areas of Zimbabwe, flooding has destroyed homes, livestock and infrastructure, aid agencies report. In Mozambique, where floodwaters have reached a depth of six metres in some areas, the worry is that the worst may not be over. This is because rain falling in the upper catchment area of the Zambezi has not yet travelled downstream.

There is still the risk of another surge as water from rainfall upstream flows though the Zambezi River valley in the centre of the country, our correspondent says. Mozambique's National Institute of Disaster Management has been co-ordinating the emergency response, and has been evacuating people from areas thought to be most at risk.

Its director, Paulo Zucula, says that if forecast rains fall in the catchment area, the Zambezi could reach levels as high as in 2000. Then, half a million people fled the rising water. But he says that disaster and subsequent floods have taught the country how to cope -and he expects the numbers of people affected this time to be far lower.
BBC NEWS REPORT.