More than 300,000 people have been forced from their homes by severe flooding in Mozambique’s Gaza province, the governor said Monday, after weeks of torrential rain left about 40% of the region underwater.
The scale of the disaster has prompted President Daniel Chapo to cancel his planned trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as central and southern parts of the country grapple with the unfolding emergency, the state-run daily Noticias reported.
Gaza Gov. Margarida Mapandzene Chongo said roughly 327,000 displaced residents are sheltering in dozens of temporary sites, including schools and churches, after fleeing or being evacuated from flooded and high-risk areas. Gaza province is home to about 1.4 million people.
Humanitarian organizations said earlier this month they feared around 200,000 people would be affected by extreme weather in Mozambique, but that figure appears to have been exceeded.
Inocencio Impissa, a Cabinet minister and government spokesperson, said nearly 600,000 people had been affected in Gaza and neighboring Maputo province.
Chongo said authorities were calling for the evacuation of all residents from low-lying parts of Gaza’s provincial capital, Xai-Xai, as more flooding threatens the city of about 115,000 people along the Limpopo River.
Streets in Xai-Xai resembled rivers as floodwater surged through parts of the city, according to videos posted on the city’s official Facebook page.
Images from the nearby town of Chokwe, the site of earlier evacuations, show floodwater almost entirely covering houses and other buildings, with only the tips of some roofs visible.
Weeks of heavy rain have left more than 100 people dead in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, with major rescue efforts still underway in Mozambique and South Africa. Mozambican authorities said severe flooding in northern South Africa is now affecting Gaza, which borders South Africa, as rivers flowing into Mozambique burst their banks.
Chongo said “the situation is likely to worsen” in Gaza because of heavy rain in southern Zimbabwe that will eventually flow into her province.
Mozambique, a nation of about 34 million people on Africa’s southeastern coast, has endured devastating cyclones and a crippling drought in recent years. Several provinces have been hit by the floods, with conditions in three described by authorities as critical.
A nationwide red alert, the highest warning level, has been issued.
The National Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction, which is coordinating rescue operations, said about 110 people were rescued by helicopter Sunday after being stranded in trees or on other high ground. They included children, older adults and a pregnant woman about to go into labor.
Transport and Logistics Minister Joao Matlombe said about 40% of Gaza was submerged, 152 kilometers (94 miles) of roads nationwide were completely destroyed and more than 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) were damaged.
Recovery costs for Mozambique could reach hundreds of millions of dollars. The premier of one South African province affected by weeks of heavy rain said damage there could total about $250 million.
