Desperately needed medical relief was brought to 10,000 people in villages marooned by floodwater, thanks to the RNLI's Mozambique rescue mission.

Crews ferried a doctor and logistician from the French medical agency Medians du Monde to areas that had been written off as 'impossible' because helicopters could not land there and they were inaccessible by road.

The further up the Buzi river the team went the worse the condition of the people became, until they reached the settlements around the village of Goonda, where the hospital had been destroyed by cyclone and flood. Starvation was beginning to get a grip and disease was rife.

The medics were able to make rapid assessments of their needs so that aid teams conning out from France could be sent to priority areas.

Before the RNLI left they handed over their remaining lifeboats and gave special training to personnel from aid agencies and the Mozambique maritime administration..