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The 2000 Mozambique flood was a natural disaster that occurred in February and March 2000. The catastrophic flooding was caused by heavy rainfall that lasted for five weeks and made many homeless. Approximately 800 people were killed. 1,400 km² of arable land was affected and 20,000 head of cattle were lost. It was the worst flood in the Mozambique in 50 years.1
Flooding
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The floods began on 9 February with high levels of precipitation across Southern Africa, South Africa, southern Botswana and Swaziland were also affected. Mozambique received the most rainfall, the capital Maputo was flooded, as was the road between the capital and the second largest city, Beira. Torrential rain continued to the 11th of February, in Mozambiques Limpopo Valley, the banks of the Limpopo River burst, causing severe flood damage; residents of the area are struck with dysentery.
On 22 February, tropical Cyclone Eline hit the Mozambique coast near Beira, north of the areas already affected by flooding. On February 27, flash floods inundated low farmlands around Chokwe and Xai-Xai.
Over 45,000 people were rescued from rooftops, trees, and other isolated areas. This effort was at first carried out by only a few Mozambican naval vessels. The governments of South Africa, Malawi, and Mozambique provided fewer than a dozen helicopters to the rescue effort. One of the iconic images of the flooding was Sofia Pedro giving birth in a tree while surrounded by flood water. She was then rescued by the South African Air Force who flew both her and her new daughter Rositha Pedro to Chibuto. Action by the government and international aid organizations was slow. Significant rescue equipment arrived from Europe and North America three weeks after the onset of the flood.
The flood had a tremendous effect on the agriculture of Mozambique. 90% of the country's functioning irrigation infrastructure was damaged, causing the worst of the agriculture losses suffered. 1,400 square kilometres of cultivated and grazing land was lost, leaving 113,000 small farming households with nothing. 20,000 head of missing cattle were reported, many were feared to have drowned or contracted disease. Every major valley south of Beira was affected by the overflowing of rivers.
630 schools were closed, leaving 214,000 students and teachers without classrooms. 42 health units were destroyed, including Beira Central Hospital, the second largest in the country.
The Mozambican government requested $450 million in international aid at a donor conference held in Rome in early May, 2000.
References
- ^ Floods take a serious economic toll, Africa Recovery, 14(3):13
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- This page was last modified on 18 November 2008, at 19:40.
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