Speaking on a telephone interview in Maputo. Knott said that "the response of the Mozambican government to these natural disasters was remarkable".
He noted that the central region of the country was devastated by floods and after that came the cyclone, "but deaths in both cases were kept to the minimum - less than 100 - thanks mainly to the Mozambican timely and efficient response of the emergency operations".
(In fact, so far not a single death has been confirmed in the Zambezi Valley, and only 12 from the cyclone.) "Naturally here and everywhere, including the United States, more work needs to be done to be prepared and educate people on how to protect themselves in the case of a natural disaster, but certainly Mozambique has contributed a lot, and it is a model for other countries in the region and, possibly, also for any other parts of the world", Knott said.
To face the drama of the floods, the Mozambican government set up 41 accommodation centres in four provinces along the Zambezi river valley to shelter people who had lost their homes.
In support, USAID provided a plane that the assessment teams used to overflow the flooded areas, and granted about 10,000 mosquito nets and chemicals for the treatment of drinking water.
But Knott noted that the main part of the work to transport and accommodate the about 114,000 displaced people was done by Mozambican soldiers and local civil authorities.
"One difference I could find, from the last five years, when I first came here, was an effective empowerment and a more professional attitude in anticipating and responding to natural disasters", said Knott.
"The Mozambican National Disasters Management Institute (INGC) has been improving its capacity to plan and manage resources and to pre-position equipment and staff in the threatened areas", he said.
SOURCE: AIM
