Prime Minister Luisa Diogo said that "technicians are considering the options" between repairing two helicopters that are currently out of order, or purchasing two second hand ones.
"Obviously we would like to have both", she said.
The INGC has been operating with only one helicopter for the rescue of victims in the current flooding in the Zambezi Valley, and to transport relief goods to the accommodation centres, where they are being temporarily sheltered.
Diogo said that the repair of the two broken helicopters would cost about 1.5 million US dollars, while acquiring the second hand aircraft is estimated at about 800,000 US dollars.
This is part of the government's negotiations with foreign donors, who have been making an "important contribution" in the ongoing operations in the Zambezi valley, she said.
Diogo said that the British government has offered to help in either the repair or the purchase of the helicopters.
Other partners have been supporting Mozambique with tents, foodstuffs, water and sanitation, among other needs. Food aid is now being supplied to those in need, but Diogo described the quantities as still insufficient.
Meanwhile, the INGC declared on Saturday the end of rescue operations in the Zambezi Valley, but the alert is not over, with the river still in flood along its lower reaches.
Using six boats at the start of operations, eventually increasing the number to 25, as the flood crisis unfolded, the INGC managed to rescue 120,791 people from islands in the river, and low-lying areas along its banks. 49,105 of them have been placed in accommodation and resettlement centres in Manica, Sofala, Zambezia and Tete provinces.
"We are pleased with the way the operation went, but we are not going to claim victory, because we are worried about the accommodation centres, particularly concerning the risk of epidemics. I fear an outbreak of cholera", said INGC director Paulo Zucula.
The INGC has so far recorded 743 cases of disease among flood victims in Caia, the worst-hit district. Of these, 312 were suffering from malaria, and 253 were cases of conjunctivitis.
There were five cases of dysentery, and 173 cases of diarrhoeal diseases - but none of these was diagnosed as cholera.
The operations in the Zambezi Valley over the past fortnight were undertaken without any loss of life at all. The INGC knows of no reports of any casualties among the flood victims.
Zucula said that, although the rescue operation is over, there are still about 500 people isolated in the locality of Chissamba, in the Zambezia district of Chinde. However, their lives are not at risk, and the only need logistical assistance.
Commenting on the possibility of a new wave of flooding, Zucula said the weather forecast is for moderate to heavy rains in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi as from Tuesday. This could worsen the situation in central Mozambique. The authorities are thus urging people to remain in safe areas.
A determinant factor in flooding on the lower Zambezi is the amount of water released from the floodgates of the Cahora Bassa dam. The dam operating company, HCB, has cut the discharges from 8,400 cubic metres a second a week ago to 3,602 cubic metres a second as from Sunday.
Contrary to an idiotic report on the BBC last week, the dam was never in any danger of "overflowing". HCB has managed the discharges so as to ensure that the physical integrity of the dam is never threatened, and that the Cahora Bassa lake retains enough capacity to cope with any further major influx of water from Zambia and Zimbabwe.
At Tete city, the flood surge has now passed. The level of the Zambezi is rapidly dropping, and the river is now well below the flood alert level of five metres. Here, according to the Monday evening bulletin from the National Water Board (DNA), the river fell from 5.2 metres on Sunday to 4.49 metres 24 hours later.
Further downstream, the river remains in flood, but is slowly beginning to fall. Thus at Caia, the Zambezi fell from 7.54 metres on Saturday to 7.42 metres on Monday - but this is still almost two and a half metres above the Caia flood alert level of five metres.
At Marromeu, where the flood alert level is 4.75 metres, the river dropped by just two centimetres, from 7.01 metres on Sunday to 6.99 metres on Monday.
SOURCE: AIM
