General News - 2nd prize
Karel Prinsloo
The Associated Press for Sunday Times
The Associated Press for Sunday Times
22 February, 2000
A man helps his wife across a river near Xai-Xai, north of the capital Maputo, past a bus that was swept away when a bridge collapsed. In January a cyclone hit Mozambique, causing water levels to rise six meters in 24 hours. Continuing rains led to a flood that was the worst to hit the area in thirty years. A quarter of arable land was lost, and damage was estimated at US $100 million. Hundreds of people who had taken refuge on a high bridge near Xai-Xai, north of the capital Maputo, were stranded when waters rose overnight.