Mozambique: Government rainy season contingency plan lists 175 roads at risk

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Mozambique: Government rainy season contingency plan lists 175 roads at risk

2:32 CAT | 16 Jan 2024

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

The National Road Administration (ANE) of Mozambique has identified 175 roads at risk during the current rainy and cyclone season, according to the contingency plan that Lusa accessed on Tuesday.

“As it is expected that there are clear indicators of the threat of flooding and damage to the road infrastructure that make up the classified road network, the adoption of extreme preventive measures may be considered, which do not exclude the prohibition of vehicle traffic, considering that many areas could be become inaccessible,” the document warns.

The plan was prepared to “address possible damage resulting from floods in the current rainy and cyclonic season”, and “maps critical access routes, indicating possible damage” and alternative routes in some cases, ” with a view to systematic monitoring”.

In this survey, the province of Sofala presents 32 roads at risk, of different types, followed by Nampula (31), Zambézia (27), Manica (17), Niassa (14), Inhambane (14), Maputo (12), Cabo Delgado (ten), Gaza (ten) and Tete (eight).

The contingency plan designed by ANE states that it “includes roads that are part of the country’s classified road network, especially those in provinces where an increase in precipitation is expected to be influenced by the ‘El Niño’ phenomenon”.

“Aiming to mitigate harmful impacts,” the ANE appeals to citizens and motorists to observe the plan “whenever it is necessary to carry out travel for the transport of passengers and cargo on the indicated routes and periods”.

The plan calls for “prudence and strict caution in the critical situations described in it, using, where possible, the alternative routes indicated, thus avoiding possible embarrassment and inconvenience that may arise from calamitous phenomena”.

At least 44 people have died in the current rainy season due to bad weather in Mozambique, 19 of them in Zambézia province.

According to a report from the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD) covering the period October 1st to January 8th, the main cause of weather-related deaths were lightning strikes (28 cases), followed by the collapse of walls (13) and drownings (three).

Rains and strong winds affected 4,056 families across the country during this period, a total of 19,729 people, and 49 were injured. Also caused was partial destruction of 1,611 homes, while 718 were completely destroyed and 1,784 were flooded.

There are also records of the destruction of 137 classrooms, 21 schools, 3,968 students and 42 teachers affected . The bad weather also affected eight health units and nine places of worship, also destroying 88 kilometres of roads by January 8th.

At the end of September, 2023, President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi called for citizens and entities to prepare for the predictable effects of the ‘El Ninõ’ phenomenon in the country in the coming months, with forecasts of above-normal rainfall and outbreaks of drought.

“History repeats itself. So, we have to create conditions of resilience. In this sense, the government will issue regular warnings to keep the population informed and prepared for weather conditions that may not be favourable to life, production or infrastructure,” the head of state stated.

Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change in the world, cyclically facing floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs between October and April.

The 2018-2019 rainy season was one of the most severe in memory in Mozambique: 714 people died, including 648 victims of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, two of the biggest ever to hit the country.

In the first quarter of last year, intense rains and the passage of Cyclone Freddy caused 306 deaths, affected more than 1.3 million people in the country, destroying 236,000 homes and 3,200 classrooms, according to official government data.

Source: Lusa