Zambia Says Floods Leave 1.4 Mill. People Hungry

More than 1.4 million Zambians need food after floods destroyed white maize crops and left thousands of people without homes.

More than 1.4 million Zambians need food after floods destroyed white maize crops and left thousands of people without homes, Vice President Rupiah Banda said.

Banda told journalists from state media the government had concluded a disaster assessment exercise which showed that 1.4 million people would need relief food in 2007.

Banda said 41 of Zambia's 73 districts had been affected by floods which destroyed maize, cassava, sorghum and millet crops.

"It's estimated that the floods have affected 1,443,563 people (and) 295,148 (people) need immediate relief assistance," Banda was quoted as saying by the state-owned Zambia Daily Mail newspaper on Tuesday.

Officials say heavy rains which swept across southern Africa also destroyed homes, schools and clinics in several parts of rural Zambia.

In 2003, 1.1 million Zambians were left to rely on handouts from the U.N.'s World Food Programme after floods destroyed their maize plantings.

Zambia recovered in 2005 when it produced a surplus and followed with another maize surplus in 2006 which led to grain exports mainly to Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A fortnight ago, the government banned maize exports until the forecast for the new crop is completed in order to avert a food crisis.