Flooding displaces tens of thousands as Mozambique issues red alert
More than 300,000 people have been displaced by flooding in Gaza province, Mozambique’s governor said Monday, as weeks of torrential rain across parts of southern Africa sent floodwaters into the region.
The governor, Margarida Mapandzene Chongo, said around 327,000 people were being housed in dozens of temporary shelters, including schools and churches. She said residents had fled or been evacuated from areas in Gaza that were flooded or facing flood threats.
Chongo said Gaza’s provincial capital, Xai-Xai, was also under worsening threat as more flooding approached the city’s lower parts, where authorities were calling for the evacuation of everyone. The report said Xai-Xai, home to about 115,000 people, lies next to the Limpopo River, and that videos posted to the city’s official Facebook page showed streets resembling rivers as floodwater surged.
In nearby Chokwe, images from earlier evacuations showed floodwater almost entirely covering houses and other buildings, leaving only the tips of some roofs visible, according to the report.
Humanitarian organizations had warned earlier this month that extreme weather could affect around 200,000 people in Mozambique, but that figure has been overtaken, the report said. Inocencio Impissa, a Cabinet minister and government spokesperson, said nearly 600,000 people had been affected across Gaza and neighboring Maputo over the same period.
President cancels Davos trip as rescue operations continue
Mozambican President Daniel Chapo canceled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, because of severe flooding affecting central and southern parts of the country, the state-run daily newspaper Noticias reported. Mozambique issued a nationwide red alert warning—the highest level—over the weather, according to the report.
The National Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction, which is coordinating rescue operations, said about 110 people were rescued by helicopter on Sunday while trapped in trees or other high points. The rescued group included children, elderly people, and one pregnant woman about to go into labor, the institute said.
Mozambique’s transport minister, João Matlombe, said around 40% of Gaza was submerged. He also said 152 kilometers (94 miles) of roads across the country had been completely destroyed and that more than 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) of roads were damaged.
Officials said the flooding impact in Gaza also reflected events beyond Mozambique’s borders. The report said Mozambican authorities were seeing severe flooding in northern South Africa affecting Gaza as rivers flowing into Mozambique burst their banks, while Chongo warned that conditions were likely to worsen because heavy rains in southern Zimbabwe would ultimately flow toward her province.
Death toll rises; regional damages assessed
The report said weeks of heavy rains have left more than 100 people dead in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It said major rescue efforts were still under way in Mozambique and South Africa.
It also said Mozambique’s recovery costs could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The report cited a South African province premier assessing that damage there could be around $250 million.