Zimbabwe has appealed for $100m (£82m) to help people affected by floods that have killed 246 and left nearly 2,000 people homeless since December.
After suffering a crippling drought last year that left more than four million in need of food aid, heavy rains began pounding parts of the south and south-west of the country in December.
Local Government Minister Saviour Kasukuwere said floods had swept through villages, destroying roads, crops and livestock.
The air force has transported some marooned villagers to safety.
The rains have also devastated infrastructure: 74 schools had been damaged and 70 dams had burst, raising concerns for communities downstream, he said.
Five bridges on major highways have been swept away nationwide, Transport Minister Joram Gumbo said.
“Our roads have deteriorated to the extent that some sections of the national road network have become impassable,” Zimbabwe’s Daily News newspaper quoted Mr Gumbo as saying.
Last week, the cash-strapped government was criticised for spending a reported $2m to celebrate President Robert Mugabe’s 93rd birthday.
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