wfn.org | Mozambique suffers severe flooding

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 12, 1999	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
10-31-71B{136}

By United Methodist News Service

Flooding has been so severe in Mozambique that some areas of the African
nation are completely surrounded by water, resembling islands.

The recent flooding has occurred primarily in central and southern
Mozambique, United Methodist Bishop Joao Machado told United Methodist News
Service in a March 10 interview. Many United Methodists live in those
sections of the country, he added.

Two of the towns surrounded by water, Buze and Mutarara, remain unreachable.
The main route to Chicuque Hospital in Inhambane, a United Methodist
institution, also is closed because of damage to the road. 

Daily rain since December has caused the worst flooding in 40 years, leaving
about 400,000 homeless. Besides the need for food and shelter, a major
concern is the outbreak of disease. Machado said cholera is occurring
because of the lack of clean drinking water, and malaria is a problem
because of mosquitoes. One retired pastor died of malaria on March 8 and
"many children are dying of malaria," the bishop reported.

Church officials in Mozambique have had no contact with members and staff in
Cambine and Chicuque because of the road problems and disruptions in
telephone service.

Machado has made an initial request of $25,000 in assistance from the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Of that money, $5,000 would go to
repair the impassable road to Chicuque Hospital, $10,000 would be for food
and shelter, and $10,000 would pay for medicine to combat cholera, malaria
and other waterborne diseases.

Donations to help the church with the flooding in Mozambique can be
designated to UMCOR Advance No. 156500, "Mozambique Emergency." Checks can
be dropped in church collection plates or mailed to UMCOR at 475 Riverside
Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115.
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