Massive flooding caused by heavy rains forced thousands of people from their homes in Mozambique, leaving some stranded on rooftops as torrential water inundated neighborhoods, aid workers and witnesses said on Monday.
More than 620,000 people were directly affected by the floods, with more than 72,000 homes flooded and extensive damage to roads, bridges and health centers, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which is helping with relief efforts.
– It is expected that the rains will continue to fall in the coming days, and the dams are already at full capacity, so the situation could worsen, which would further endanger people – Rachel Fowler, IFRC’s program and operations manager from the capital Maputo, told Reuters.
Dear world, Mozambique is currently under floods, climate change is real and its impacts are here!!!
Let’s show them love in whatever form you can. pic.twitter.com/xSMg1P2dNj— ONJOLO KENYA (@onjolo_kenya) January 18, 2026
Red Cross volunteers are using small fishing boats to reach survivors, but access is becoming increasingly difficult, Fowler added. Neighboring South Africa deployed an air force helicopter to help.
Hospital worker Celeste Maria told Reuters she and her family fled their home in Chokwe in the southern Gaza province after authorities sent flood warnings last week.
– Our home is now completely submerged… We left neighbors who are now telling us that they are hiding on the roofs while the water continues to rise – said the 25-year-old woman by phone from the relocation center.
Aerial photographs show vast areas of land submerged in water, with only the tops of trees sticking out. There were no immediate estimates of the number of people killed or injured in the latest floods.
A spokesman for the port of Maputo, an export hub for goods, said operations were slower than usual but not halted.
Petrochemical company Sasol ( SOLJ.J ) and logistics firm Grindrod ( GNDJ.J ), two major foreign companies operating there, said their operations were not affected at this stage.
Heavy rains also hit parts of South Africa, including the northeast where the famous Kruger National Park reopened on Monday after being closed for several days.
(Vijesti.ba/Fena)
