Heavy rain has caused flooding in areas of Maputo, with bad weather forecast until Tuesday

In Maputo province, heavy rain has been falling since early Sunday morning, the center of the capital and several neighborhoods are flooded, and bad weather is expected to last until Tuesday, the National Institute of Meteorology told Luse.

“This is the result of a combination of the hot weather we have experienced in recent days in the south of the country and the humidity. This combination has created this instability and this drop in rainfall. The volume of precipitation was about 150 millimeters in less than 24 hours (…),” meteorologist Telmo Sumila told Lusa.

The rain caused flooding in several areas of the cities of Maputo and Matola, including the center of the capital, where one of the main avenues was practically impassable: 25 September.

“This scenario will continue for the next 24 hours. In Maputo, at least until Tuesday, the scenario will slow down,” explained Telmo Sumila.

In addition to the province of Maputo, rain will also fall in the provinces of Gaza and Inhambane in the south over the past 12 hours, with amounts of 50 and 75 millimeters, and the weather is also expected to affect the coast of Sofala. and Zambezia, in the southern center.

By Tuesday, the weather may improve in Maputo province, but it will worsen in the north of Inhambane, and will also affect the coast of Sofala and Zambezia provinces, he stressed.

The Southern Regional Water Authority (ARA-SUL) this Sunday called for precautionary measures due to rising water levels in the Movene and Calicane river basins in Maputo.

“In addition, the holding capacity of the Pequenos Limbos Dam has been declining since the passage of Tropical Cyclone Phillipo (which hit the south of the country just over a week ago). Be vigilant and take appropriate safety measures,” the message says. document.

Mozambique’s current rainy season, which begins in October, has already killed a total of 135 people and affected another 116,334, according to a report seen by Lusa on Thursday.

Of the 135 deaths reported from October to Monday, 57 were caused by lightning strikes, 31 by cholera, 24 by drowning, 20 by house collapses and three by animal attacks, the National Institute of Disaster Management and Reduction said in a report. Risk (INGD).

The 2023/2024 rainy season also caused 181 injuries, the total and partial destruction of 6,348 houses and the flooding of a further 10,473 houses, and affected 652 vessels, 26,354 hectares of crops, of which 5,879 were reported lost.

Mozambique is considered one of the countries hardest hit by global climate change, experiencing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.