The Council of Ministers decreed a state of red alert yesterday in order to respond more quickly to the floods that are affecting the country.

"The red alert opens up space so that, with much greater flexibility and simplification of procedures, the government can use mechanisms to minimize suffering," said Filimão Suze, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, quoted by Lusa.

He pointed to the possibility of civil requisition as an example, among other forms of action to promptly "involve more resources and people" in rescue operations.

According to the updated figures presented today, the number of deaths in the rainy season (from October to April) has risen to 95, with a total of 11 deaths in the floods recorded between February 7 and 20 in the south of the country.

These floods, which particularly affected the Maputo region, caused damage to 43,500 people, bringing the total number of people affected since the start of the rainy season to 100,000.

Meanwhile, several members of the government were deployed yesterday to lead brigades in the different provinces, preparing for operations that may be necessary to deal with Cyclone Freddy, which hit Madagascar today and is expected to hit the provinces of Sofala and Inhambane on Thursday night.

The strength with which the storm will reach the country and whether it will be classified as a cyclone or a tropical storm is still uncertain, but the forecasts converge in the prediction of very heavy rain for Friday and the following days in the central-southern interior of the country.