Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican government’s relief agency, the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management (INGD), says it is ready to intervene in the event of floods during the present rainy season.
Interviewed by Radio Mozambique, INGD chairperson Luisa Meque, on a visit to the southern province of Gaza, praised the level of readiness of the teams set up to move into action in the event of flooding in Chokwe district. Chokwe is at the heart of the Limpopo Valley, an area prone to floods.
Gaza, she said, is “duly organized” with regard to the positioning of search and rescue teams, early warning equipment, and the availability of tents, boats, and other logistical requirements.
“In the places visited, we noted some dikes that need maintenance to prevent the waters from reaching Chokwe city, if there is any flooding”, said Meque. “But in general we are working at a good pace in terms of monitoring the province”.
Meque encouraged staff of the Emergency Operational Committee (COE) to ensure that appropriate conditions are created to prevent flooding similar to that which occurred in 2000. That was the year of Mozambique’s worst post-independence floods, when every major river in the south of the country burst its banks, causing hundreds of deaths and massive destruction. Gaza was particularly badly hit, with the entire Limpopo Valley under water.
Meque also noted the high level of interventions undertaken by the Gaza provincial government to reduce the risk of natural disasters.
At this stage in the 2020-2021 rainy season, torrential rain had already inundated some parts of Gaza, “but we note that this year those areas are not inundated”, said Meque, “which means we are controlling the water storage system”.
The Mozambican rainy season begins in October, and ends in March the following year. January and February are usually the rainiest months.
This rainy season, storms and heavy rains have so far affected over 47,000 people. But most of these (over 26,000 people) are in Maputo city, where the failure of the municipal council to provide a decent drainage system means that ever year low lying neighbourhoods are inundated.
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