SOUTH AFRICA: AID FOR MOZAMBIQUE FLOOD VICTIMS

(7 Mar 2000) English/Nat More promised aid from the United States has arrived in flood-stricken Mozambique. Three more helicopters equipped with night vision and capable of flying long-range missions landed at an airbase in South Africa on Tuesday. They were joined soon after by a transporter plane with cameras to help in the search and rescue effort. Most of the U-S effort to help the flood victims - part of Operation Atlas Response - will be based in the port city of Beira. The U-S has pledged 40 (m) million U-S dollars in relief for the flood-ravaged country. The pieces are slowly coming together in Operation Atlas Response - the U-S mission to provide relief for an estimated 250-thousand Mozambicans left homeless by the floods. Troops and equipment landed on Monday and Tuesday, with more specially equipped helicopters flying into Hoedspruit air base in South Africa. SOUNDBITE: (English) "If there are still people to be rescued then that will certainly be our first priority. We can also deliver food and water as necessary. We have some unique capabilities with us. We are air refuelable, so we should be able to fly for long amounts of time, and we have night vision equipment, so if necessary we can go out at night." SUPER CAPTION: Major Dave Kyger, US Airforce pilot They were joined by a transporter plane with camera and video technology which will be used to comb devastated areas for remaining survivors. The U-S Airforce's Brigadier General Mark Volcheff explained how the high-tech system works. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We have a camera which we fly at altitudes of 3 to 10-thousand feet, where we can actually look down on the ground while airborne and see people. And the great capability of that is that we can find people stranded in the trees or in the flood areas and give their coordinates to the international organisations that are helping with this rescue effort. They can then send helicopters to those areas and take those people to safety." SUPER CAPTION: Brigadier General Mark Volcheff, US Airforce But there's been some criticism of the speed of the U-S relief effort, which has yet to fly a mission. The British, French and German teams are already operating in the devastated areas, even though they arrived at about the same time as the advance guard of the U-S contingent. An estimated 250-thousand people in Mozambique are crowded into 64 makeshift camps and aid workers say they are running out of clean water which is increasing the risk of cholera outbreaks. Cases of malaria are said to have tripled. Only deliveries of fresh water, food, and medicines can help these people survive. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...