[00:04.31]Flooding is continuing for a third week in southern African countries.
[00:11.31]:Strong rain and wind have destroyed houses, bridges and roads in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
[00:23.54]Crops have been destroyed, and thousands of cattle have been lost.
[00:30.07]It is saidto be the worst flooding in the area in fifty years.
[00:36.34]The flooding is worst in Mozambique.
[00:40.83]Hundreds of people have died in the floodingin the central and southern parts of the country.
[00:49.11]As many as 1,000,000 people have lost their homes.
[00:53.32]A huge flood wave moved down the country's northern Limpopo River on Sunday.
[01:00.94]The waters flooded the small town of Chokwe.
[01:05.31]Many people trapped by the rising floodwater climbed to the tops of trees or houses in hopes of being rescued.
[01:14.58]South African military helicopters have rescued about 8,000 people in the area.
[01:21.87]But South African officials say thousands of people could not be rescued because of a lack of helicopters.
[01:30.85]The number of dead is said to be increasing in Mozambique.
[01:35.92]International aid agencies say more helicopters and humanitarian aid are needed in Mozambique.
[01:43.99]They say without more aid, hundreds of thousands of people may die.
[01:50.65]The World Food Program says the risk of starvation and disease is growing.
[01:58.10]The United Nations says governments have promised more than 13,000,000 dollars in aid for Mozambique.
[02:08.42]And, the World Food Program says it has begun a 7,000,000,dollar emergency aid operation.
[02:17.22]The United States and other countries are sending food and emergency supplies to Mozambique.
[02:26.29]PreSident Joaquim Chissano visited the flooded areas earlier this week and appealed for more international aid.
[02:36.53]The flooding ended years of development work and economic recovery in-southern African countries.
[02:44.73]Mozambique says it will take more than 16,000,000 dollars to rebuild.
[02:52.04]More flooding is expected in the central and southern parts of the country in the next few days.
[02:59.30]Environmental experts say much of the flooding is caused by the destruction of wetlands in southern Africa.
[03:08.81]They say wetlands are like huge sponges that can take in large amounts of water. |