The current rainy season in Mozambique, from October to April, has already killed 117 people, Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources Carlos Mesquita said Tuesday in parliament.
Mesquita spoke at the response meeting of the government to the questions of the three benches of the Assembly of the Republic.
Describing the impact of the floods and winds as “devastating,” the minister estimated that more than 273,000 people had already been affected by the hurricanes.
The minister also pointed to the complete destruction of more than 26,000 houses (mostly dilapidated makeshift housing) and damage to another 18,000.
In agriculture and animal husbandry, 72,000 hectares of crops, more than a thousand heads of cattle and 31,000 have been lost.
The bad weather also affected more than a thousand schools, temporarily preventing more than a million students from studying.
Dozens of medical units and ships were also destroyed.
Carlos Mesquita cited heavy rains in February, exacerbated by dam releases in neighboring countries, and severe Storm Freddy as contributing factors to the loss of life and damage recorded this rainy season.
Between October and April, Mozambique suffers cyclical flooding, a phenomenon justified by its geographic location, prone to the passage of storms and, at the same time, downstream of most river basins in southern Africa.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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