Mozambique will evacuate thousands of people along the Zambezi valley threatened by floods in southern Africa that have spread to Malawi and left scores homeless, relief officials said on Thursday.
Heavy rains from Zimbabwe and Zambia are still pounding Mozambique and the crisis is deepening, said Paulo Zucula, director of the National Disaster Management Institute (INGC).
"The situation is getting bad day by day and today we'll embark on compulsory evacuation where we know for sure that the waters will flood," he told Reuters, adding that the situation could spiral out of control in some areas.
Heavy downpours are common in the region in the annual rainy season, which runs generally from November to April, but the relentless rain is unusual and has caught officials off guard.
Rains in Mozambique triggered flash floods in parts of Malawi's resort district of Mangochi, destroying over 100 homes, district commissioner Timothy Chirwa told Reuters by telephone.
"This in turn has caused floods destroying over 120 homes and washed away 14 hectares of maize fields, and if this continues it could have adverse effects on the food situation in this part of the country," Chirwa said.
"Our teams are still trying to assess the damage and find out if any lives have been lost but we fear more and more people have been affected."
Floods killed at least six people in Mozambique and officials have warned of outbreaks of diarrhoea and cholera. Diarrhoea is one of the biggest killers of children in Africa.
RED ALERT
Some 54,000 have already been evacuated from other parts of the Zambezi River area and authorities say nearly 110,000 have lost property and livestock.
"We expect to use seven boats and a helicopter to evacuate some 5,000 people in Mutarara and Chinde today," said Zucula.
"The situation is getting out hand in Mutarara, Buzi and Maxanga along the Zambezi valley...we have already issued a red alert, and this is not the time to raise the awareness of people still in dangerous areas, but to cohesively remove them."
Some 500 people have fled Chinde to Malawi.
In Zambia, severe flooding could worsen if water from rivers in the north flows into the hard-hit south, officials say.
Floods have destroyed crops, drowned livestock and caused thousands of Zambians to flee their homes. The government has estimated 1.5 million people could be displaced.
Floodwaters in Zimbabwe, where millions are struggling to feed themselves in the midst of an economic crisis, have cut road links to large parts of the country.
Sibusisiwe Ndlovu, deputy director of the country's Civil Protection Unit, said floods had "generally subsided" but efforts to assist displaced people are still underway.
Mozambique's National Meteorology Institute warned that rains would continue pounding Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi in the next 24 hours.
Floods killed 45 people and left 285,000 homeless last year when torrential rain and hurricanes swept through Mozambique. It was the worst flooding since 2000-2001, when 700 people died and another half a million were driven from their homes.
Thursday, 10 January 2008
Retail Star Limited ASX: RSL - First Malawi Uranium Licence Granted - Mr Ian Scott, MD
Sydney, Jan 10, 2008 (ABN Newswire) - Retail Star Ltd (ASX: RSL) announces the granting, by the government of Malawi, of the Machinga uranium licence in the East African country of Malawi. This property comprises an Exclusive Prospecting Licence ("EPL") covering an area of 378 sq km.
The licence is held by Eastbourne Exploration Ltd ("Eastbourne"), a company beneficially owned by the Company. Eastbourne has also recently been granted two strategically located uranium tenements in the Northern Territory covering 159sq km.
The grant of the EPL and the tenements is pursuant to the agreement dated 26th July 2007 and subsequently approved by shareholders on 6th August 2007 (the "Agreement") whereby Red Rock Resources plc ("RRR") agreed to sell its Australian uranium interests to the Company. Following grant of the EPL to the Company's nominee Eastbourne, 30,000,000 B Class Converting Performance Shares issued to RRR convert to 30,000,000 new fully paid ordinary shares in the Company.
Uranium in Malawi
There has been a significant increase in exploration activities, and in the application for EPLs in Malawi, led by the activities of Paladin NL of Australia (a subsidiary of Paladin Energy Ltd), focused on the Kayelekera uranium deposit. The government of Malawi has signalled its interest in further developing mining activities within the country.
The Machinga Property
The Machinga property covers some 378 sq km just north of the old capital city of Zomba in south central Malawi. The "Interpretation of Airborne Geophysical Survey Results" carried out by Paterson, Grant & Watson for the United Nations Development Programme Report in Oct 1987, and refined by them for RRR in late 2006, highlighted two areas for investigation for uranium exploration; the Chinduzi Radioactive Zone, and the Machinga Radioactive Zone. Both of these target areas are covered by the Machinga Property and are marked in blue on the attached map. The EPL encompasses a number of high priority targets for uranium exploration. Peak airborne radiometric anomalies are in the order of 10 to 12 times higher than background readings within these target zones.
The Malawi exploration programme is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2008. The intended programme is summarised in the Company's AGM presentation released to the ASX on 6th December 2007.
The Company believes exposure to uranium-prospective countries of East Africa, with a positive attitude to uranium exploration, and in particular Malawi, reduces the risk of becoming heavily reliant to one region and gives diversification. The Malawi government has expressed commitment to assisting companies exploring for or wishing to produce uranium.
Northern Territory Tenements
Through Eastbourne, the Company now has in addition two recently granted tenements in the Northern Territory totalling 159 sq km (EL26219, EL26220), which adjoin RSL’s highly prospective Edith River lease (EL23568).
The licence is held by Eastbourne Exploration Ltd ("Eastbourne"), a company beneficially owned by the Company. Eastbourne has also recently been granted two strategically located uranium tenements in the Northern Territory covering 159sq km.
The grant of the EPL and the tenements is pursuant to the agreement dated 26th July 2007 and subsequently approved by shareholders on 6th August 2007 (the "Agreement") whereby Red Rock Resources plc ("RRR") agreed to sell its Australian uranium interests to the Company. Following grant of the EPL to the Company's nominee Eastbourne, 30,000,000 B Class Converting Performance Shares issued to RRR convert to 30,000,000 new fully paid ordinary shares in the Company.
Uranium in Malawi
There has been a significant increase in exploration activities, and in the application for EPLs in Malawi, led by the activities of Paladin NL of Australia (a subsidiary of Paladin Energy Ltd), focused on the Kayelekera uranium deposit. The government of Malawi has signalled its interest in further developing mining activities within the country.
The Machinga Property
The Machinga property covers some 378 sq km just north of the old capital city of Zomba in south central Malawi. The "Interpretation of Airborne Geophysical Survey Results" carried out by Paterson, Grant & Watson for the United Nations Development Programme Report in Oct 1987, and refined by them for RRR in late 2006, highlighted two areas for investigation for uranium exploration; the Chinduzi Radioactive Zone, and the Machinga Radioactive Zone. Both of these target areas are covered by the Machinga Property and are marked in blue on the attached map. The EPL encompasses a number of high priority targets for uranium exploration. Peak airborne radiometric anomalies are in the order of 10 to 12 times higher than background readings within these target zones.
The Malawi exploration programme is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2008. The intended programme is summarised in the Company's AGM presentation released to the ASX on 6th December 2007.
The Company believes exposure to uranium-prospective countries of East Africa, with a positive attitude to uranium exploration, and in particular Malawi, reduces the risk of becoming heavily reliant to one region and gives diversification. The Malawi government has expressed commitment to assisting companies exploring for or wishing to produce uranium.
Northern Territory Tenements
Through Eastbourne, the Company now has in addition two recently granted tenements in the Northern Territory totalling 159 sq km (EL26219, EL26220), which adjoin RSL’s highly prospective Edith River lease (EL23568).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
