Water authorities tell residents to leave danger areas

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Water authorities tell residents to leave danger areas

11:20 CAT | 29 Dec 2017

In file CoM

The Zambezi Regional Water Administration (ARA-Zambeze) in central Mozambique has warned people living in parts of Tete city, and the districts of Mutarara, Doa and Zumbo, to abandon areas that are prone to flooding.

A note from ARA-Zambeze said that, although the main rivers in Tete province (notably the Zambezi itself) have not yet reached flood alert levels, people living in dangerous areas should move now, to avoid possible deaths later on in the rainy season.

ARA–Zambeze also stressed that people should avoid crossing rivers, which have been swollen in the recent heavy rains, and should not take shelter under trees due to the danger of lightning strikes.

In Sofala province, a rise in the level of the Metuchira river has submerged a bridge and cut off communication between the two banks. This has isolated parts of Nhamatanda and Gorongosa districts from the rest of the country, affecting about 25,000 people.

The Nhamatanda district administrator, Boavida Manuel, cited in Thursday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, said rains had been falling heavily in the area since Sunday. Seven canoes and one motor boat owned by the Mozambican Red Cross have been mobilised to allow people to cross the river. The national relief agency, the INGC (National Disaster Management Institute) is also putting a boat on the river.

The bridge over the Metuchira is often submerged during the rainy season. The government plans to build another, higher bridge, which would not be flooded, but the current financial crisis has made it impossible to start this work.

The forecast from the National Meteorology Institute is for thunderstorms, heavy rains and high wind across all of central and northern Mozambique for the next few days.

The National Water Resource Directorate (DNGRH) has warned of the possibility of flooding on the Messalo, Montepuez and Megaruma rivers in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, and along the Melui basin in Nampula.

This alert also extends to the central province of Zambezia, where the valleys of the Licungo and Ligonha rivers are at risk, and where the provincial capital Quelimane could suffer localised flooding.

Source: AIM