AFRICA/ANGOLA - Floods: Archbishop urges Catholics to help people in difficulty, many homeless find shelter at parish centres

Luanda (Agenzia Fides) - The consequences of torrential rains in northern Luanda, capital of Angola are ever more serious (see Fides 30 January 2007). The government has announced a death toll of at least 114, and over 85million dollars of material damage with 38 bridges destroyed, 10,000 homes destroyed and 28,531 families without shelter.
“The Archbishop of Luanda, Archbishop Damião Antonio Franklin, launched an appeal over Radio Ecclesia for the mobilisation of the Catholic community to assist people affected by the floods” local Church sources told Fides. “Temporary shelter for homeless in parish buildings and supply of meals has already arranged by the diocesan Caritas office”.
“More than half the country’s population lives in and around Luanda” the sources said. “This is one of the consequences of the long years of civil war 1975-2002, when much of the rural population took refuge in the capital. Most had to build makeshift dwellings which in time have become homes, unsanitary and unsafe. Associated with the absence of a drainage system this fact worsened the damage caused by the rains”.
Besides Luanda, the floods affected also the town of Moxico where the River Cazombo burst its banks forcing 5,000 families to evacuate their homes in only a few hours. Many survivors on rooftops had to be rescued by helicopters.
“At the moment the metrological situation has improved: it has stopped raining” the local sources told Fides. “However this moment of respite will be short since experts forecast more and heavier rain which will continue until May”.
The government has launched an emergency plan and requested the help of the international community to deal with the present emergency and prepare for those to come. The government said it has only 10 million dollars with which to face the situation. “However so far not much has been done. We hope the international community will help in yet another African emergency” the source concluded.
As a producer of oil (2 million barrels a day expected for 2007) and diamonds in theory Angola has the financial resources to give its people better living conditions and to deal with emergencies like the present one. However the reality is that most of Angolans live in dire poverty and most of the country’s resources are in the hands of a class of bureaucrats. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 8/2/2007 righe 38 parole 443)