Mozambique: Cities need ‘climate risk map’ – researchers

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Mozambique: Cities need ‘climate risk map’ – researchers

9:39 CAT | 16 Feb 2021

Urban floods in Maputo. February 2021. [Photo: MMO]

A group of Mozambican researchers is drawing up a climate risk map of the cities of Beira and Maputo and plans to study more cities vulnerable to natural disasters, geographer José Langa told Lusa on Monday.

The map is the culmination of a report on climate change that is already underway and should be ready in July.

“There is a lot of information and scattered data about the geography of risk zones in Mozambican cities, which result from the aftermath that is done right after a climatic event, but there is a lack of detailed knowledge about these phenomena,” Langa said.

The new map will give physical details about the specific vulnerable area and the type of phenomenon with the greatest potential to cause damage, he explained.

“For example, the city of Beira, where we began the study, is cyclically subject to cyclones and floods because it is below sea level,” and buildings have occupied the water escape channels that the city had, he added.

Concerning the Mozambican capital, he added, the climate map will show that the floods in the lower city are related to the obstruction of the drainage system in Maputo’s new neighbourhoods, the so-called expansion neighbourhoods.

José Langa, a lecturer at the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) in Maputo, said that the researchers would also study the social and environmental impact of climate change in Mozambican cities, to allow decision-makers to design policies that are consistent with the reality on the ground.

The research will also result in a tool to simulate the effects of natural disasters in each area.

After Beira and Maputo, the researchers intend to study climate change’s effect on other Mozambican cities vulnerable to natural disasters.

The researchers involved in the project are part of the Environmental Observatory for Climate Change (ObservA), a non-governmental research entity.

The Global Climate Risk Index, published in January by non-governmental organisation Germanwatch, found Mozambique to be the most vulnerable country in the world to natural disasters.

The research was drawn up looking at the fact that the country has been affected in a single year, 2019, by two of the biggest tropical cyclones ever to hit the southern hemisphere, Cyclones Idai and Kenneth.

Global Climate Risk Index 2021: #Mozambique, #Zimbabwe & #TheBahamas hit hardest by extreme weather in 2019. #ClimateAdaptation Summit starting today must discuss enhanced support for vulnerable countries to deal with increasing climate impacts: https://t.co/AUjzj3uHUq #GCRI2021 pic.twitter.com/a21K9UGu36

— Germanwatch (@Germanwatch) January 25, 2021

Mozambique is in the midst of the rainy and cyclonic season, which occurs between October and April, with winds coming from the Indian Ocean and flooding originating in the southern African river basins.

This year thousands of people have already been affected by bad weather.

The most severe were storm Chalane at the end of the year and cyclone Eloise in January, with a total official death toll of 19, but reports from local authorities point to double that.