Gaza province, one of the 2 provinces, where our project works with community health workers, has been hit by horrible flooding. The whereabouts of three of our staff were unknown yesterday, but I just found out that 2 have made it back to Xai-Xai (pronounced Shy-Shy) today by helicopter. Now only one person, the Save the Children driver, is unacccounted for. Unfortunately, yesterday the Limpopo River, which passes right next to Xai-Xai, topped its banks, flooding the entire city, where almost all our Save the Children staff in Gaza province live. Luckily most had evacuated prior to the flooding. The BBC article (
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21206347) estimates that 70,000 people have been displaced, but this was before Xai-Xai flooded yesterday. Another development is that the road connecting the capital, Maputo, with the rest of the country has been completely cut off. The UN is looking for additional funds as most of the displaced people have no shelter and many are still on rooftops or living in the middle of roads. Below are some photos of a World Food Programme/Save the Children aerial assessment mission to the areas yesterday. They tell the story the best.
Save the Children has not yet set up a specific mechanism to donate to the flood victims, but if you're interested in helping, check
www.savethechildren.org. I'll also update on the situation here.
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| People stranded on rooftops, Guija district |
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| Rescue in process, Guija |
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| Limpopo River, near Xai Xai- normally the water is about as wide as if your your index finger |
