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One Nation, Underwater

With water surging below her and a helicopter hovering above her, Sophia Pedro gave birth to a baby girl in a treetop last Wednesday. Sophia is one of 200,000 people who lost their homes in the worst floods on record in the African country of Mozambique. She had spent four days perched in the tree waiting to be airlifted to safety.

The situation in Mozambique, a poor country about twice the size of California, is disastrous. A cyclone and three weeks of heavy rain caused the Limpopo and Save (sah-VAY) rivers in the southern part of the country to overflow, flooding most of central and southern Mozambique. Hundreds have died, and tens of thousands have been left clinging to trees and rooftops without food or water.

"It was like another world," said Paulina Mundo, who lived through the flood. "Just water beneath us and the sky above."

Rescue teams worked around the clock, but by last Friday thousands remained stranded. Because there was a shortage of helicopters and fuel, rescuers were forced to decide whom to rescue first and whom to leave. "Some people were up to their necks in water," said pilot Mike O'Donnel. "They were the ones we went for first."

"It's a race against the clock," said Michele Quintaglie of the United Nations World Food Program, which is helping the victims. "People just can't literally hang on forever to be rescued."

The U.S. is sending money, troops and supplies to aid rescue efforts.

Next: Red Alert!