Flooding as a fact of life
Once in three years on average, a part of Mozambique is hit by tropical storms or cyclones; most of them with heavy rains and severe flooding (see Intro to water).
One of the severest cyclone seasons with flooding happened early 2000. Successive storms at the end of 1999 and three cyclones in early 2000 gave a lot of rainfall in the South of Mozambique and in the neighbouring countries. Four successive floods occurred in the Southern Rivers. Flooding and impact were worsened in the Limpopo Basin by the impact of human-made obstructions, such as the elevated road that is connecting Xai Xai with Maputo (oral info Savenije). It was one of the few times that the water divide between Limpopo and Incomati plains was overtopped. The Limpopo reached 3 meter above the maximum level that had been recorded till then (Davie 2008 pages 93-96). About 4 million people were affected, 45,000 people lost their home, 700 people died and repair costs of infrastructure were estimated at US$ 450 million (Christie and Hanlon 2002), not yet including the negative economic impact for the longer term.
Humanitarian Response
The response from the international community was large, which was provoked by an iconic image of a helicopter rescue of a woman (called Sophia) who gave birth to a daughter (Rosita) while she had found shelter in a tree, where she stayed for 4 days together with her husband (Pedro). Mozambique also made an effort for local fund raising, e.g., using a clip with Chove Chuve of Jorge Ben as lead song.
In the Netherlands, the public fund raising reached € 10.8 million (SHO). The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs decided to prematurely start budget support to Mozambique, of which a substantial part (€ 26 million(IOB 2008 page 171 and IOB 2012 page 52)) was incidental because of the reconstruction needs after the floods. When Southern Africa was hit by another disaster in 2002 (now a severe drought), the public response was of a comparable size € 12.6 million (SHO).
Evaluation
The Limpopo flooding and provided humanitarian aid are analysed by Christie and Hanlon (2001 and 2002). They emphasise that most of the people were rescued by local response, which is often less visible than the international response. It is estimated that around 46,000 people were rescued, who otherwise could have died (Hanlon and Christie 2002).
Emergency preparedness
Mozambique learnt a lot from the many disasters and has become stronger in emergency preparedness. An institution is created for disaster management (INGD). A cooperation between different Ministries is publicising seasonal forecasts, while in case of expected emergencies they publish frequent bulletins. For the WASH sector, a special WASH emergency cluster is created, facilitated by UNICEF and DNAAS.
Dutch disaster prevention initiative
The Netherlands has provided a lot of support. Not only for the reconstruction and strengthening of dikes, but also for early warning systems and emergency preparedness.
From 2015 onward, the Netherlands has its own disaster reduction response unit (DRRS) with a major focus on water and post-disaster response with emphasis on preventive action for future disasters. In Mozambique it has been active after the 2016 floods in the valley of the Licungo river near Mocuba and after the Idai Cyclone in 2019.
A lot of emphasis was put on the so called multilayered security, but the implementation is retarded. The challenges of climate change and sea level rise are large.
References:
Christie F., Hanlon J. (2001). Mozambique & the great flood of 2000. Canadian Journal of African Issues. Indiana, USA: Indiana University Press; only digital abstract
Davie T. (2008). 'Case study Mozambique floods of 2000'; in: Davie T. (2008). Fundamentals of hydrology; Routledge fundamentals of Physical Geography 2nd edition pages 97-99
Hanlon J., Christie F. (2002). ‘Preparedness pays off in Mozambique’; In: ed. World Disasters Report 2002. Geneva: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; only digital abstract
Spaliviero M., De Dapper M., Maló S. (2014). ‘Flood analysis of the Limpopo River Basin through past evolution reconstruction and a geomorphological approach’; in: Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences no 14; pg 2027 - 2039
World Bank (2018). Extreme Weather and Poverty Risk: Evidence from Multiple Shocks in Mozambique (Working Document)
Websites:
Disasters: https://www.ingd.gov.mz/
DRRS team: https://projects.rvo.nl/programmes/nl-kvk-27378529-4000006712
Meteorology: https://www.inam.gov.mz/index.php/pt/
Floods: e.g. https://www.ara-sul.gov.mz/bolentins-hidrologicos
Wikipedia on the Limpopo floods 2000
Version management: Original text written by D. Bouman, May 2024
