On Friday, February 18, the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency grant aid of 100,000 US dollars and emergency assistance in kind (equivalent to about 18 million yen) comprising tents, blankets, plastic sheets, and generators, etc. to the Republic of Mozambique, which has sustained great damage from flooding.
In Mozambique, flooding has been triggered by torrential rain which started in mid-January. This flood has caused the worst damage in fifty years, most severely to five provinces in the central and southern parts of the country (Sofala, Manica, Inhambane, Gaza, and Maputo). In these five provinces, banks of major rivers have collapsed, cutting roads in many places, and a number of cities and villages are now isolated. In the capital city of Maputo, water supply has been cut off because the torrential rain has destroyed the principal water-supply system, and many shelters have been set up. In the midst of such an unprecedented flood in the country, the Government of Mozambique requested aid from the international community on February 10, considering that its own efforts to assist the victims had reached their limit.
The Government of Japan has decided to extend this emergency assistance from a humanitarian standpoint, in view of the seriousness of this disaster and the friendly relations between Japan and Mozambique.