More than 327,000 people have been displaced in Mozambique’s southern Gaza province as severe flooding continues to overwhelm communities, forcing authorities to open 36 temporary accommodation centres and launch large‑scale rescue operations.
Gaza provincial governor Margarida Mapandzene told Radio Mozambique that the Chihaquelane centre alone is sheltering over 25,000 people, while rising waters from the Limpopo River have already inundated parts of Xai‑Xai, prompting urgent evacuation orders.
She warned that discharges from the Massingir and Macarretane dams – now releasing up to 6,500 cubic metres of water per second – are worsening conditions in Chibuto, Guijá and Chókwè.
Heavy rainfall in neighbouring Zimbabwe is also swelling the Save River.
The Southern Regional Water Board expects the river to reach flood‑alert levels within 48 hours, threatening Nova Mambone and Machanga.
Rescue teams from the National Disasters Management Institute used 14 boats and four helicopters on Sunday to save 110 people trapped in the Limpopo Valley, including a pregnant woman airlifted from rising waters.
South Africa has deployed an Oryx helicopter and specialised rescue personnel to support operations.
At least 103 people have died and more than 200,000 have been affected as floods damage homes, disrupt food supplies and strain essential infrastructure across central and southern Mozambique.
Flooding on the Incomati River has cut off Maputo from the rest of the country after waters washed over the EN1 highway.
President Daniel Chapo cancelled his trip to the World Economic Forum to oversee relief efforts, saying saving lives remains the government’s top priority.
JN/APA