The exception is the lower Zambezi. At Marromeu, the last measuring station on the river before it flows into the Indian Ocean, the river rose from 5.16 metres on Friday to 5.23 metres on Saturday morning. Flood alert level at Marromeu is 4.75 metres.
This was only to be expected - the flood surge that hit Mutarara and Caia further upstream earlier in the week has now reached Marromeu.
At Caia, the river is still above the alert level of five metres, but has continued to fall (from 5.66 metres on Friday to 5.56 metres on Saturday).
Last week's rains in the Zambezi basin, and the rise in the level of the lower Zambezi, led to an interruption in work on the new bridge over the river at Caia.
The director of the bridge planning office, Elias Paulo, cited by the daily paper "Noticias", said that heavy equipment had been removed for safety reasons.
The site where the bridge pillars are being erected is saturated, and the rising Zambezi threatened the whole Caia area with inundation. "Part of the land is very humid, and the river is unstable", said Paulo. But other work connected with the bridge, further away from the river, was continuing.
Paulo promised redoubled work on the bridge construction after the rainy season, in order to make up for lost time.
SOURCE: AIM
