Flooding in Mozambique

Around 95,000 people have been made homeless by flooding along the Zambezi valley in southern Mozambique.

The situation

About 95 000 people have already been made homeless by these early floods in the Zambezi river valley and others. Hundreds of thousands more, while not displaced, have lost assets such as crops. Around 30,000 hectares of arable land has been destroyed. The most flood affected district is Mutarara, where about 30 000 people are living in resettlement sites.

In pictures: Mozambique floods

The situation is very volatile, and we are concerned that humanitarian needs may continue to grow over the coming weeks because of more rain, and from planned opening of the Kariba dam's flood gates on 11 February. We are committed to maintaining flexibility, with plans in place to respond quickly to rapidly growing humanitarian needs.

Most households, still recovering from the 2007 floods, have again lost most of their food stocks and their crops due to the floods. There is concern about the long-term impact this will have on people's livelihoods. It is estimated that 50,000 tonnes of seed will be needed in the recovery phase to support more than 10,000 farmers.

According to Mozambique's Ministry of Health, there are increasing numbers of people with diarrhoea and vomiting. Cholera is a serious threat.

Oxfam's response

Oxfam International is working in the Zambezi and Save river valleys, both directly and through partners.

In Chupanga, Oxfam is already supplying clean water and sanitation facilities to 7,000 people affected by last year's floods in three resettlement centres, and is preparing to help some 2,500 people just arrived at these sites. Oxfam is stocking hygiene and household kits, plastic sheets to improve shelters and buckets for 2,000 families as it fears the arrival of more people in the coming days. Downstream in Marromeu and Nhani, Oxfam is preparing to install emergency water systems for 600 families displaced by the flood.

Learn more: Preventing the spread of cholera

In Mutarara, one of the most affected areas in the Zambezi high basin, there is little reliable road access. Oxfam staff report that water levels are higher that those seen in the peak of last year’s flood, and even some helicopter landing sites used for the delivery of aid last year are submerged this time. We are working in eight resettlement centres with the priority of building latrines and increasing water supply for 30,000 people. Access to the centres is very difficult and deliveries to some of them are done by helicopter.

In Tambara Oxfam is working with a local partner, Magariro, providing water and sanitation to 10,000 people living on islands in the river. In the Save valley, Ajoago (a local partner) has been engaged from the start of the flooding in search and rescue operations, using their radio-based early warning system to alert communities about the floods. A joint Oxfam-Ajoago team is preparing water points, buckets and latrines for more than 1,100 people in the Bea Pea resettlement centre.

All Oxfam International actions and responses are co-ordinated with the local authorities.

Update: February 2008