Mozambique’s National Meteorological Institute (Inam) warned on Monday of moderate to heavy rains on Tuesday in three northern provinces, with the country already counting more than 720,000 people affected by floods since January.
The rains, which could reach over 50 millimetres in 24 hours, according to Inam, will be recorded in the districts of the provinces of Nampula, Cabo Delgado and Niassa, in northern Mozambique, after weeks of heavy rains and floods, especially in the south.
The Mozambican authorities are calling for safety and precautionary measures in response to the warning.
The number of people affected by the January floods in Mozambique rose on Friday to 723,289, with 22 deaths, according to provisional data from the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD).
According to data from the INGD database, as of 14:30 (12:30 Lisbon time) on Friday, floods recorded in various parts of Mozambique have already affected the equivalent of 170,223 families.
Since 7 January, 45 people have been reported injured and nine missing as a result of these floods. Some 3,541 houses have been partially destroyed, 794 completely destroyed, and 165,946 flooded.
The INGD report also points to 451,571 hectares of agricultural land affected, of which 275,765 are considered lost, affecting the activities of 332,863 farmers, in addition to the deaths of 430,972 heads of cattle, goats, and poultry.
Relief efforts continue for families besieged by floods, especially in Maputo and Gaza in southern Mozambique, following heavy rains over several days.
The European Union, the United States, Portugal, Angola, Spain, Timor-Leste, Norway and Japan, as well as neighbouring countries, have already sent emergency humanitarian aid.
Since the beginning of the rainy season in October, including the January floods, there have been 146 deaths, 148 injuries and 844,295 people affected, according to INGD data.
Source: Lusa