Mozambican authorities said today they had begun evacuating up to 80,000 people threatened by fresh floods as more water is released from the Cahora Bassa reservoir.
Mr Silvano Langa, director of Mozambique's National Institute for Disaster Management, said rescuers had four to five days before a fresh wave of water hits the towns of Marromeu and Luabo downstream from the dam.
Cahora Bassa, the country's largest dam sited on the Zambezi River, was nearing full capacity with the water level now close to its critical level of 326 metres.
Mozambique has appealed for $30 million in aid and aircraft as it battles floods that have affected nearly 400,000 people in the central provinces of Zambezia, Sofala, Manica and Tete. More than 77,000 people are homeless.Last year's devastating floods killed 700 people and left more than 500,000 homeless, prompting one of the biggest rescue missions in southern Africa.
Local media today reported that the death toll had climbed to 56, but Zamissa could not confirm the figure. The last official estimate was 41 dead.