At least four people died in Mozambique and 14,000 were evacuated due to flooding caused by heavy rains in the south of the country.
The Boane region, which is far about thirty kilometers from the capital Maputo, has been hit hardest. 4K houses overflowed, two bridges collapsed and several streets were completely flooded.
Lurdes Simão Dove says: “Our houses are flooded, we have no place to sleep. Our barn collapsed in the rain, we have nothing to eat. People have been swept away and many houses in Caful have drowned, there are no boats to rescue these people, we ask for help by helicopter or boat.”
30,000 people have been affected by these floods, according to the National Institute for Disaster Management For the moment, the relief workers only have small boats and are not able to respond to the emergency. Adolfo Mate, a rescue worker, reports the number of people rescued so far:
“Between yesterday and today, we have rescued almost 100 people and today we plan to rescue more than 300 people.”
The floods could worsen in the next few days, and precipitation is expected until Monday. With water from flooded rivers in South Africa and Eswatini flowing downstream, rescuers race against time to evacuate 24,000 people, the main highway linking Maputo to the rest of the country will soon be soon flooded.