Gearing for heavy rains as La Nina strengthens

Tick. Enough stocks of tents and mosquito nets. Tick. Mobile phones delivered to communities living along the upper catchment areas of the River Zambezi. Check.

"We do not want a repeat of the situation from last year, when 1,000 people were displaced in Lusaka [the Zambian capital] alone because of poor drainage," said Mulenga. Mulenga is one of several officials in Southern African gearing up for the rainy season which normally goes on until the end of March 2011. But this year, with the La Ni–a influence, the region is bracing for a wetter than usual season.