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Weeks of heavy rainfall have triggered widespread flooding across southern and central Mozambique, forcing families from their homes and submerging entire neighborhoods as rivers continue to overflow. As of 23 January 2026, the National Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction (INGD), with support from IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), reports that over 616,000 people have been affected, including 100,153 people evacuated and living across 97 Accommodation Centres (ACs), Projections indicate that up to 800,000 people could be affected as flooding persists. Gaza Province is the hardest hit, with large concentrations of displaced communities, including in Chiaquelene and Xilembene.
The floods have caused severe humanitarian impacts. An estimated 392,000 people have been displaced as homes became inundated or destroyed – the number of persons displaced persons continues to rise. Critical infrastructure, including health facilities, road networks, and essential services, has been extensively damaged. Access remains a major challenge due to flooded roads, flash flood risks, and ongoing water releases from dams in Mozambique and upstream countries Nearly 5,000 kilometres of roads across nine provinces are affected, including key sections linking Maputo to the rest of the country, disrupting supply chains and limiting access to food, fuel, and humanitarian assistance.
On 17 January 2026, the Government requested international support, including technical expertise, logistics support, and direct assistance to respond to the devastating impacts of the floods. Humanitarian partners, including IOM, are scaling up lifesaving assistance to address most urgent needs. Deployments are also underway to strengthen critical response capacities including to decongest overcrowded evacuation centers, and carry out assessments in hard to reach areas, and support the overall coordination of the response.
Humanitarian needs are rapidly outpacing available resources. Affected communities face significant shortages of shelter and essential household items, food, as well as safe water, sanitation, and hygiene support, heightening risks of waterborne disease. Displacement management, health services and protection support are also urgently needed.
In response, IOM is appealing for $38.4 million to reinforce life‑saving assistance, restore basic services, and support early recovery efforts across all flood‑affected localities in Maputo Province, Maputo Cidade, Gaza, Manica, Sofala, Zambezia, and Niassa, ensuring support reaches the communities most in need.
This appeal is in alignment with the Addendum to the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan issued on January 23 that calls for USD 187 Million for the next 6 months to support the flood response.
IOM remains fully committed to supporting the Government of Mozambique and working alongside partners to protect lives, preserve dignity, and meet the urgent and growing needs of communities affected by the floods.