bridge over Montepuez river in Cabo Delgado destroyed by the floods
© Zenaida MachadoBridge over Montepuez river in Cabo Delgado destroyed by the floods
Severe weather including heavy rain and flooding has left 5 people dead in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique.

Local media, quoting officials from Instituto Nacional de Gestão de Calamidades (INGC), said that Cabo Delgado Province saw heavy rain and strong winds from around 26 December, 2019. As of 31 December, at least five people had died, 51 injured, 1,700 houses damaged and around 8,600 people affected. Schools were also damaged, affecting around 1,500 students.

Local TV reported that the Messalo, Megaruma and Montepuez rivers were all above flood alert, endangering over 60,000 people living close to the river banks.

Flooding wiped out an important bridge over the Montepuez River in Ancuabe district of Cabo Delgado, cutting road connections and leaving many of the provinces northern districts isolated.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Mozambique said that the heavy rains damaged or destroyed dozens of shelters of Internally Displaced Populations (IDPs) in Chuiba transitional centre near Pemba city.

Radio Mozambique also reported severe weather in Nacala-Porto District in Nampula Province, damaging around 37 homes and affecting around 150 people.

Sofala and Manica, Mid-December

Heavy rain also affected parts of the country in mid-December. IOM conducted rapid assessment in 55 resettlement sites across Sofala and Manica provinces after the heavy rain on 10 December 2019.

IOM said that, "in total, 151 upgraded shelters, 91 emergency shelters and 257 tents were completely destroyed due to the heavy rain. IOM identified that an additional 150 shelters (upgraded, emergency shelters and tents) had major structural damages to walls and/or roofing, 3,608 shelters were partially damaged (including those shelters that were flooded) and 305 latrines were damaged."

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