Gaborone [Botswana], March 23 (ANI): Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal said that India sent the first tranche of assistance in Botswana in the wake of floods.The MEA said that the tranche comprised of 10 tons of essential medicines, surgical supplies, mosquito nets, water purifiers, among other things.In a post on X, Jaiswal said, "India sends humanitarian assistance to Botswana. In the wake of floods in Botswana, the first tranche of approx 10 tons of assistance comprising essential medicines, surgical supplies, mosquito nets, water purifiers, etc was dispatched for Botswana."Botswana authorities said at least nine people were confirmed dead as rare flooding hit the semi-arid country. More than 5,000 people have been affected by the floods due to record rainfall, Voice of America reported on February 24.Addressing Parliament, Moeti Mohwasa, the Minister for State President, said the nine people who died had all drowned. Of the deceased, six were minors, as per VOA."While the risk level has generally reduced ... I regret to inform this house that we have lost one more person yesterday evening, bringing to nine the total number of fatalities to date. ... So far, the number of people evacuated has increased to 1,806 from 1,749 reported yesterday," Mohwasa said.The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said at least 6,00,000 schoolchildren were experiencing disruptions due to the floods.While the situation is improving with rain subsiding, more than 600 people remained at evacuation centers as of February 16.Calvin Moalosi, a Gaborone resident who was at one of the centers, said he lost his belongings due to the floods."I have never seen so much water in my life. The house became a pool of water, and it is really sad that some people were swept away in the floods," Moalosi said. "The government has done its best to evacuate people and take them to safe areas, as per VOA. (ANI)