Floods in Mozambique after Cyclone Gombe, March 2022.
© National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD)Floods in Mozambique after Cyclone Gombe, March 2022.
Over 50 people have now lost their lives in Mozambique as a result of severe conditions brought by Tropical Cyclone Gombe. Satellite imagery shows over 500 km2 of land in Nampula and Zambezia provinces was under water.

The Southern Region of Malawi was also severely impacted, with over 100,000 people displaced according to Red Cross reports.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Gombe made landfall over the coastal area of central Nampula province in the early hours of 11 March 2022, with strong winds and heavy rain.

As of 14 March, 100,441 people had been affected in Nampula and Zambezia provinces, with 50 people and 15 fatalities.

These figures have increased dramatically over the last few days as access to affected areas has opened and damage assessments carried out.



According to figures from Mozambique's Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction (INGD), as of 18 March a total of 448,800 people have been affected by the storm, which caused 53 deaths and injured 80 people. As many as 20,957 people have been displaced from their homes and are staying in emergency accommodation centres.

The storm caused considerable material damage, with 46,265 houses completely destroyed, along health centres, school buildings, electricity poles and almost 1,000 km of roads.

Satellite imagery provided by UNOSAT detected surface waters in Maganja Da Costa, Namacurra and Nicoadala districts in Zambezia province, estimating 442 km2 of land flooded.

Similar images of Mossuril, Mogincual and Liúpo districts in Nampula Province in Mozambique, of March 13, 2022, showed a total of 110 km2 flooded.

According to the UN, the hardest it districts in Nampula Province are Mongicual, Liupo, Angoche, Larde, Moma, Ilha de Mocambique, Mossuril, Monapo and Meconta. Road damage and flooding means Angoche, Mongicual, Moma, and Larde districts are still inaccessible.

Zambezia's most affected districts include Maganja da Costa, Nicoadala, Quelimane and Mocuba.

Malawi

Cyclone Gombe also caused flooding and wind damage in Southern Region of Malawi. As of 13 March, authorities reported 3 flood- or rain-related fatalities in Machinga district and a fourth in Mangochi district. A later report by the Red Cross said that 106,879 people were displaced and 141,968 affected. Three people were also reported missing.