LUSAKA, Zambia, Jan. 20 Floods have killed at least 45 people in Southern Africa, many of them swept away by flash floods or attacked by crocodiles, a U.N. relief agency reports.
The hardest hit countries are Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, ReliefWeb said. The Zambezi River, the largest in the region, is more than 6 feet above flood stage and was expected to rise further as the rainy season continues.
The wet weather is expected to continue into April.
Zambia declared a "national disaster," the BBC reported.
In 2000-2001, 700 people were killed by flooding in the region and an estimated 500,000 were driven from their homes. The United Nations says this year could be worse.
About 59,000 people in Mozambique have already been displaced and another 100,000 are at risk. In Zimbabwe, where the economy is in shambles, thousands of acres of crops have been destroyed.
Copyright 2008 by UPI
