Flooding displaces hundreds in Zambezia

Heavy rains in the central province of Zambezia have forced 110 families to leave their homes in the districts of Mocuba and Maganja da Costa.

According to Maria Luciano, the Zambezia provincial delegate of the country’s relief agency, the National Disasters Management Institute (INGC), 80 of those families came from the town of Mocuba.

The flood victims are being temporarily housed in premises owned by the publicly owned ports and rail company, CFM.

Luciano said that the other families, from Nante and Maganja da Costa, are being accommodated in a former rice processing factory.

Luciano told “Noticias” that the INGC’s focus is on assessing the needs of the displaced families so that help can be provided. Special attention is being given to Maganja da Costa and Namacurra, where it is estimated that nine thousand people are at risk of being hit by flooding, in the valley of the Licungo River. She added that five boats were available for rescue operations.

A team has been dispatched to Furquia, in Namacurra district, where houses and farms have been flooded.