Maputo - Heavy rains have forced Mozambican authorities to issue flood warnings and urge people in flood-prone areas to abandon their residences immediately.

The warning is aimed at preventing a repeat of disastrous flooding last year that forced more than 100,000 people to seek safety.

The country is facing its worst rainy season in decades. Rains and flooding have so far inflicted serious damage on infrastructure, property and field crops. Several villages have become isolated from the rest of the and authorities say there are no signs of rain letting up in the near future.

On Wednesday, heavy rains continued to fall into three major river basins, the Zambezi, Pungue, and Buzi. The central region, parts of southern Mozambique and the tourist resort province of Inhambane have also been hard hit.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the country are in danger of being affected by the floods.

Mozambican Meteorology Institutes Spokesperson, Mussa Musafa, told dpa Wednesday that the rainy season has just began. Musafa added the worst is still to come, especially in the lower lands where most people prefer to stay to care for their crops and cattle.

"We are predicting rains over the normal levels. This will go on for a longer period until March, because we are still in the middle of the rainy season", he said.

Rains have washed out a major highway between Morrombene and Maxixe, leaving thousands of motor vehicle en route either to Maputo or the northern part of the country stranded.

Some villages have been cut off from the rest of the country. The situation is especially dire in the village of Mussurize, which has also been hit by a cholera epidemic. Traveling to the village requires a journey through Zimbabwe, which has been hard hit by cholera.

The situation in the village has been described as chaotic and deteriorating. Reports say people lack food, medicine and shelter.

Further north, in the Zambezi basin, authorities are on alert as the Cahora Bassa dam continues discharging enormous amounts of water downstream following the rains in the region. The extra water could affect all downstream regions.

Sergio Moiane, administrator of the Buzi basin, said today on national broadcaster Radio Mocambique that the river banks have surpassed their normal levels, with surrounding lands under three to four metres of water.

"Today, the rain has reduced, but we continue to warn people living near the basins to be cautious in order to avoid emergency, which would require another effort to evacuate people, a problem that should have been solved by now, given the tremendous effort made earlier this year," he said. (dpa)