---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 21:53:45 -0500
From: William Minter <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [us-afr-network] More on Floods

For your information.  Contact sacmup if you want to receive
updates.  It seems to me that this should be used to put pressure
on U.S. government for more action.

From:  "sacmup" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Updates on southern Africa flooding
Date sent: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 11:10:43 +0200

Dear friends,

Many of you will by now have heard through the public news media
of the devastating effects of flooding in southern Africa in
connection with two cyclones which have hit the region in the past
three weeks. Especially effected have been eastern Botswana,
northern South Africa, east and southern Zimbabwe, and south and
central Mozambique.

As we write this, thousands of people in Mozambique are still
stranded on rooftops, treetops, rocks or small pieces of land
protruding above the water and there is news of a wall of water
moving down the Limpopo River which is likely within the next 48
hours to wash away these small places of refuge.  Hundreds of
thousands of people in the region have lost their houses, their
belongings and their crops.  Many groups of people who have
managed to get to places of safety cannot be reached by relief
agencies because roads and bridges have been washed away and
air transport is in very short supply.

Rains continue to fall daily in the region.  The meteorological office
is tracking a third cyclone which is curently off the northeast coast
of Madagascar and which may be heading towards northern
Mozambique.

In addition, some of the large dams in South Africa and Zimbabwe
are being opened to release water in an attempt to prevent the dams
from breaking up. This released water is adding to the volume of the
floods.

In consultation with the churches on the ground working in this
disaster in the four countries, we have offered to provide a
communication service by producing an information update every
two or three days.  They are on the run day and night and have little
time to communicate to fund-raisers and well-wishers about what is
going on.  We will therefore be in daily telephone contact with the
churches on the ground in each of these effected areas and will
send you frequent update bulletins which we hope will be helpful not
only for your personal information but also for your efforts in raising
support.

With best wishes,

Shirley DeWolf
Southern African Churches in Ministry with Uprooted People
Box 926 Mutare
Zimbabwe
tel: 263 20 66923 / 60403
fax: 263 20 60494
email: [log in to unmask]


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