Cabo Delgado: Access to the north of the province dependent on alternative routes – report

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Cabo Delgado: Access to the north of the province dependent on alternative routes – report

2:12 CAT | 05 Mar 2020

Representative photo: DW

Access to districts in the north of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, remains conditional on alternative land routes more than two months after the region’s main road route was cut, leaving several parts of the province isolated, an official source told Lusa.

“Some vehicles are unable to circulate safely, especially trucks in rainy weather, taking into account that the alternative routes are dirt roads,” Roberto Djane, delegate of the National Road Administration (ANE) in Cabo Delgado, told Lusa.

National Road 380, the only paved road that crosses Cabo Delgado, has been cut since December 28, when a bridge dating from colonial times collapsed after bad weather in the province, isolating seven districts.

Shortly thereafter, the River Massalo rose in level and cut the road elsewhere, making it even more difficult for people already affected by bad weather in the region.

“Despite the difficulties, traffic is flowing. At least at the point where the bridge over the Montepuez River collapsed, alternative dirt roads were opened, which has ensured circulation,” Djane noted.

Where the roads is cut by the rising Massalo River, crossing continues to be made by small vessels only, obliging the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) to open sea routes for supplies to families in four of the districts affected.

“There are districts in the coastal part of the province where support has been arriving by sea,” an INGC technician in Cabo Delgado said.

Bad weather in the province has affected more than 10,000 people, as well as destroying infrastructure.

Between the months of November and April, Mozambique is affected by seasonal cyclonic winds from the Indian Ocean and floods originating in the hydrographic basins of Southern Africa.

The current rainy season in Mozambique, from October to April, has already killed 54 people, mainly by lightning and drowning, and affected around 65,000 people, many having had their homes flooded, according to the INGC.

Source: Lusa