Most people cannot find Mozambique on a map. For many years, those who did know where the country was located did their best to avoid it. A 13-year civil war ravaged Mozambique, but it ended in 1992. Since then, the government has made remarkable progress in undoing the damage wrought by the war. The embrace of democracy and economic reform -- along with generous amounts of foreign aid and investment -- have produced annual economic growth in excess of 10 percent over the last few years.

Much of that success has been undone in recent weeks. Downpours and Cyclone Eline have inundated the country, turning the placid Limpopo and Save rivers into swollen torrents that are 125 km wide in some places. The devastation has been especially acute in the south, the poorest and least productive part of the country -- ironically, as a result of a lack of rainfall.

The dimensions of the human tragedy continue to grow. The death toll is already in the hundreds, but no exact count is available. More than 250,000 people are jammed into refugee camps, and hundreds of thousands more are homeless. About 1 million people -- more than 5 percent of the population -- will require food and other forms of assistance for months.