By Charles Mangwiro

MAPUTO, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Floods swamped the northern Mozambique city of Tete on Friday and forced some factories and schools to shut down.

Tete lies 1,800 km (1,118 miles) northwest of Maputo and about 250 km (155 miles) away from the Cahora Bassa dam, which has been overwhelmed by water inflows from neighbouring Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi as heavier than usual summer rains pound southern Africa.

Radio Mozambique said some 27,000 people faced food shortages in areas affected by the floods, which have so far left six people dead in Mozambique.

It said about 80 high-voltage electricity pylons had been brought down in Manica in the south, while torrential downpours had also wrecked bridges and other infrastructure.

Some tourists resorts, schools and factories including a soap company built along the Zambezi river in Tete had been submerged in water.

The situation was more critical in Mutarara district further south, where vast agricultural lands and small bridges have been washed away. The national radio said 49 schools had been partially destroyed.

Authorities have warned the situation will worsen as Zimbabwe and Zambia continue to endure the heaviest rains since official records started about 100 years ago.

"We will continue to have rains in the northern regions of Mozambique in the next 24 hours of days and rivers will overspill into large portions of land," said Mussa Mustafa, head of Mozambique's National Meteorology Institute.

"The soil is already saturated (with) water and the run-off is very high, an amount of water can cause massive devastation."

Last week, the government issued a red-alert warning that the Zambezi, Pungue, Buzi and Save rivers had all risen above critical levels.

The National Institute of Disaster Management has used helicopters and boats to rescue 50,000 affected residents, assisted by 400 military staff and aid agencies.

Institute director Paulo Zucula said some 14,000 people would be evacuated on Saturday on the northern bank of the Zambezi river as water levels keep rising.

"Two or three resettlement areas may not be safe. Property and infrastructure is now being wrecked but we are worried (about) the people," he said.

Floods killed 45 people and left 285,000 homeless last year when torrential rain and hurricanes swept through Mozambique in the worst flooding since heavy rains left 700 people dead and drove half a million from their homes in 2000-2001.

The government says it is geared to spend $33 million in rescue operations until March and has already used $10 million since December. (Editing by Alison Williams)

AlertNet news is provided by