Mozambique: Heavy rains since the end of last month have caused widespread flooding in Mozambique, with at least 50 people dying and more than 600,000 affected, the EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) reported on Tuesday.
According to Ghana News Agency, the ERCC cited information from the disaster authorities in the south-east African country. Further rainfall was expected in the south of the country over the next 24 hours, with the provinces Gaza, Maputo, Inhambane, and Sofala affected. Some 78,200 people were being housed in emergency shelters, and thousands of homes had been destroyed.
Health facilities and infrastructure had been impacted, according to the head of the UN's Humanitarian Affairs office (OCHA) in Mozambique, Paola Emerson, speaking from Xai-Xai, the capital of Gaza Province. She noted that 90% of the population lived in adobe-style houses that deteriorate after a few days of rain. Emerson mentioned that approximately 5,000 kilometers of roads have been damaged across nine provinces, including the main road linking the capital Maputo to the rest of the country, which is currently inaccessible, resulting in significant supply chain disruptions.
The Limpopo River has overflowed, flooding multiple areas. All 14 sluices on the Massingir Dam, located on a tributary to the Limpopo, had been opened for the first time since 1977, as reported by Mozambican media. The outflow surged to 17,000 cubic meters per second from 10,000 within hours, and reservoirs downstream were also full.
Gabriel Monteiro of the INGD national disaster authority indicated that the floods could be more severe than those of 2000, when hundreds of people lost their lives. More provinces were affected this time, he told the AIM state news agency, but he added that the country was better prepared.
South Africa and Zimbabwe are also experiencing flooding, with the death toll in South Africa reaching 30 since the end of December, the ERCC reported. It reported 70 deaths in Zimbabwe.