Mozambique: Over 122,000 affected by bad weather; death toll hits 29

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Mozambique: Over 122,000 affected by bad weather; death toll hits 29

1:03 CAT | 08 Feb 2018

File photo: Facebook

Twenty-nine people have died since October in heavy rain and strong winds in central and northern Mozambique’s provinces, a spokesman for the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) told Lusa.

“The situation remains worrying, with more rain predicted,” Paulo Tomas said, adding that the deaths were caused by lightning and drowning.

In total, 122,000 people have been affected since the start of the rainy season.

Inclement weather has destroyed 17,000 homes, 654 classrooms and 17 health units, a scenario worsened by the passage of a tropical depression that struck the provinces of Niassa, Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Zambézia in January.

Authorities estimate that 300 million meticais (4.1 million Euros) will be needed to restore the damage caused by the tropical depression, of which 187 million meticais (2.5 million Euros) will be spent rehabilitating roads and bridges, according to the INGC.

“We continue to give priority to assisting people,” the spokesman said, noting that INGC director-general João Machatine is in Nampula monitoring the situation of the families affected.

Mozambique is cyclically affected by floods between October and April as a result of its geographic location, being both subject to storm surges and downstream in most of Southern Africa’s river basins.

Source: Lusa