The ManicaPost
45 people have died in the storms and floods which have hit parts of northern Mozambique since the start of the current rainy season in October.
Speaking at a Maputo press conference on 5 February, the director of the National Operational Emergency Centre (CENOE), Mauricio Xerinda, said that the deaths were caused by high winds, lightning strikes, and floods resulting from torrential rains.
Since October, the number of people affected by flooding is around 26 000. Over this period, 1 202 houses have been destroyed and a further 3 941 have been damaged.
While heavy rains have hit parts of the north, in southern Mozambique severe drought, blamed on the “El Nino” weather phenomenon, has plunged 167 000 people into food insecurity. If the drought continues until March, the number of people at risk of hunger could rise to two million. – AIM.
