Cyclone Eline raging towards Mozambique

Satellite image at 4 A.M. GMT Tuesday

February 22, 2000
Web posted at: 4:52 a.m. EST (0952 GMT)

In this story: Waters wash up civil war landmines Hundreds of thousands hit by floods RELATED STORIES, SITES

MAPUTO, Mozambique (CNN) - Flood-ravaged Mozambique's coastline was battered early Tuesday by screaming winds and torrential rain as Cyclone Eline edged towards the African mainland.

The South African Weather Bureau said the storm was expected to make landfall Tuesday afternoon, but reports early in the day from coastal regions north of the capital said winds in excess of 120 kp/h (75 mph) and heavy rain already had arrived.

South African radio said South African Air Force helicopters had suspended aid flights because of the weather.

More than 200,000 Mozambicans have already had their homes washed away by flooding during two weeks of torrential rain.

Neighboring Botswana also was bracing for severe flooding, said a spokeswoman for national disaster management in the office of Botswana's president.

Waters wash up civil war landmines

In Mozambique, the rushing waters have dislodged landmines -- a legacy of a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992.

"It is an intensifying cyclone. We expect bad weather over Mozambique and wind gusts of 250 kp/h," weather bureau spokesman Sam Thema told Reuters.

"There will be heavy rains over Mozambique. Some parts of South Africa's Mpumalanga and northern provinces might be affected."

Thema said the cyclone, moving at 25 kp/h (15 mph) was expected to hit Beira, Mozambique's second largest city, as well as other parts of the provinces of Inhambane and Gaza.

The Mozambican government has given no official death toll for the floods, but local newspapers say at least 48 have died.

Hundreds of thousands hit by floods

Earlier rains have already caused widespread flooding that washed away roads, houses, bridges and agricultural land in Mozambique, an impoverished former Portuguese colony.

About 300,000 people have been affected by the floods and need food and water, said Dr. Gilbert Greenall, a spokesman for U.N. agencies involved in relief efforts.

The European Union has pledged to fly in 650 tents, 5,000 blankets, 500 sets of pots, pans and plates, and first aid kits. The German Red Cross has already donated 500 tents and 3,000 blankets, said Dineo Mogwe, director of the National Disaster Management Office.

Botswana President Festus Mogae has said damage to roads, bridges and culverts is enormous, and he has appealed for international aid.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Torrential rains may slam Mozambique late Sunday
February 20, 2000
Cyclone threatens second blow to battered Mozambique
February 19, 2000
Rains wreak havoc in South Africa, Mozambique
February 8, 2000

CIA world factbook: Mozambique
NOAA: Hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Mozambique Home Page
The Republic of Botswana

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