Pope Leo XIV has extended his prayers and solidarity to the people of Mozambique who are confronting the aftermath of devastating floods that have killed at least 137 people and destroyed infrastructure.
The pontiff delivered the message during his weekly General Audience at the Vatican on Wednesday as he recalled the scale of the disaster.
“My thoughts go especially to the beloved people of Mozambique, who have been struck by devastating floods,” he said.
Mozambique is currently at the height of its rainy season, which runs from October to March, and weeks of intense rainfall have inundated large parts of the country.
The National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD) reported on Tuesday that widespread flooding has destroyed homes, damaged infrastructure and forced mass evacuations across several provinces.
According to INGD, the torrential rains damaged 3,447 houses, completely destroying 771 of these.
The storms and floods also affected 229 health units, 431 schools and 1,337 kilometres of roads, including stretches of the country’s main north-south highway, National Road Number One (EN1).
The break in EN1 at Incoluane, about 100 kilometres north of Maputo city, has made it impossible to travel overland between the north and south of the country.
JN/APA