Mozambique and the Great  Flood of 2000 by Frances Christie and Joseph Hanlon, published by the International African Institute in association with James Currey (Oxford) and Indiana University Press (Bloomington), 2001.

  Mozambique has in recent years been regarded as one of the great comeback stories of southern Africa. On the back of its buoyant economy, it successfully recovered from the prolonged civil war, and now has a stable government and increased growth.

  But disaster struck in the early months of 2000. Devastating floods struck the country between January and March, claiming more than 1,000 lives and leaving some 500,000 people homeless.

  In their recent book, Mozambique and the Great Flood of 2000, Frances Christie and Joseph Hanlon, both long-time chroniclers of Mozambique divided the disaster into four segments.

  The initial flood was caused by heavy and early rains resulting from a series of tropical storms which came inland instead of moving up the coast, and struck southern Mozambique.

  The second flood came with cyclone Connie which dumped an unprecedented 454mm of rain on Maputo airport in two days causing floods as bad as the previous record of 1977. Response was largely local and regional, with South African Airforce helicopters arriving in response to the second flood, along with TV crews.

  The third flood came down the Limpopo River after cyclone Eline struck Botswana and Zimbabwe with water higher than any in 150 years.  Within a few days the water was four metres deep and stayed for a month. This was the flood that drove thousands up into the trees and was shown to the world so drammatically on TV.

  Cyclone Gloria caused the fourth flood which made an already devastating situation worse leaving behind death, destitution and despair.

  The book narrates how heavy rains and flooding were predicted from September 1999 and how the Mozambique Red Cross ran retraining programmes for its volunteers. The National Disaster Management Institute (INGC) ran publicity campaigns and was in contact with the South African Airforce about rescue needs. Despite this dialogue, no one was fully prepared for the magnitude of the floods. 

  The local Mozambican relief agencies handled all the initial flood problems with their staff and volunteers and created the basis for the regional and international aid agencies which later flew in.

  Local preparation, regional support and international solidarity prevented the Mozambique floods from becoming a catastrophe. Forty-five thousand people were rescued; there were no major outbreaks of disease and no serious malnutrition in the accommodation centres. The interesting well-written book emphasizes how the integration of foreign aid workers into the government-coordinated system proved essential and effective.

  The international response was media-driven, often larger than needed, causing confusion. Order was quickly restored and there were massive and well-coordinated efforts to feed and accommodate the displaced.  The UN organized huge material aid and worked in collaboration with INGC.

The authors assert that by the time that international aid arrived, local communities had provided initial support in the form of schools, churches which provided shelter and local government coordination. Accommodation centres served as focal points for assistance.

  The little-known contribution of the Mozambique navy, the Red Cross and countless fishing and small boat owners saved more people than the more dramatic helicopters.

  The world-famous picture of baby Rosita and her mother being rescued from a tree by a South African helicopter became an icon of the Mozambican floods and provoked an outpouring of international support. The flood led electronic and print news for days and it was the impact of pictures on viewers that led to aid pouring into Mozambique.

  The book recommends that in future international proposals for setting up emergency management may be the best practice but should correspond to Mozambique realities. Locally there is need for effective and flexible coordination systems that have credibility and support from ministers and national directors.

  It outlines problems encountered in administering donor funds, and how some donors preferred channeling their funds through familiar ministries and organizations rather than pooling their money. 

  Thousands of displaced people had to be resettled and reconstruction was essential but the influence of donors too often led to funds being directed to their special areas of interest and not necessarily the most deserving cases.

  The authors recommend that Mozambique should have mechanisms to handle such catastrophes because in future it might not get such massive assistance internationally.

  Christie, a journalist, has lived in Mozambique since 1975 while Hanlon, a UK-based economist, is an author of 10 other books, four on Mozambique.

Pascoal Mocumbi, Prime Minister of Mozambique, and Emmanuel Dierckx de Casterlé, UN Resident Coordinator wrote the Prefaces. (Review by Chipo Muvezwa, SARDC)