Death Toll Increases in Southern Africa Flooding

MAPUTO, Mozambique —  Rapidly rising flood water in central Mozambique swept bodies down a swollen river Saturday and threatened to drown thousands of other people clinging to trees and rooftops.

Officials hoped to get rescue helicopters today to the Save River Valley. The government estimated that 17,000 people in the valley were in danger from water levels that reportedly rose several feet in a matter of hours.

Aid workers, hampered by washed-out bridges and roads everywhere, can’t cope with the scale of the disaster. Three weeks after rain began drenching southern Africa--and four days after Cyclone Eline roared through--human tragedies are still unfolding.

“It’s just reached a point that’s incredible and it’s going to get much worse,” said Michelle Quintaglie, spokeswoman for the U.N. World Food Program.

To the east, the Indian Ocean was brewing another tropical storm for Mozambique. To the west, swollen rivers in Zimbabwe and South Africa were expected to dump much of the overflow into downstream Mozambique by Monday.

In Zimbabwe, flood water Friday night sent a bus carrying an unknown number of passengers off a bridge and into a churning river. No survivors were found Saturday, but rescuers did find six tourists missing from another bus that had stalled in flood water.

Lines of cars stretching as far as two miles formed at gas stations in Zimbabwe, where flooding prevented trucks from bringing fuel to the landlocked nation. The official death toll in Zimbabwe was 29 and likely to increase.

In South Africa, parts of hard-hit Northern Province--where 76 people have died--were cut off from aid and communication, said National Defense Force Col. Flip le Roux.

In Malawi, a nation bordering Mozambique, storms have blown off roofs, downed power lines and trees and flattened crops. There were no reported fatalities.

The Mozambican government estimates that more than 200,000 people are homeless and that at least 70 have died.

Aid workers who flew over the Save River Valley said they saw several thousand people in trees, on thatched roofs and huddled on narrow strips of land, apparently marooned since Monday.

A U.S. Air Force plane carrying tents, blankets and other supplies, and an Italian aid flight were bound for Mozambique, as were two military helicopters from Malawi. The World Bank announced a $2.5-million grant for flood victims.