The international airlift for victims of Mozambique's floods restarted yesterday after two days of torrential rain but officials warned that more floodwater may be on the way.
Helicopters from at least six countries resumed deliveries of food and medicine when the skies cleared partially. "They have given us all permission to go", British Royal Air Force loadmaster, Mr Neil Littlewood, said as helicopters fired up their engines and loaded supplies for stranded communities.
Around 50 helicopters and aircraft are operating in southern Mozambique without radar, making good visibility essential.
As the airlift sought to make up for lost days, Mozambique's Foreign Minister, Mr Leonardo Simao, warned that the rain of the previous 48 hours could cause rivers to burst again and reflood areas just beginning to dry out. "The government is monitoring the weather and the levels of the rivers. At this moment the threat of more floods still exists and there is a threat that rivers could overflow once again", he said.
Donor countries have been criticised for their slow response to the flood disaster, but Mr Ross Mountain, personal envoy of the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, said aid pledges now totalled $108 million in addition to the assistance already in place.
The Canadian Secretary of State for Africa, Mr David Kilgour, acknowledged in a meeting with South African politicians that aid had been slow to start flowing. "I'm sorry that has happened," he said.
Ms Graca Machel, widow of Mozambique's first president, Samora Machel, and now wife of the former South African president, Mr Nelson Mandela, announced a further UN Foundation grant of $1 million for women and children.
Meanwhile, there is growing concern at serious flooding in the nearby Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, across the Mozambique Channel. Preliminary reports to the UN have indicated 560,000 people were affected in Madagascar, a country of some 15 million.