Government officials announced that the new round of rain currently affecting the country has forced the closure of the alternative route to National Highway 1 (N1), which had reopened in the first week of March in the municipality of Xai-Xai, in the southern province of Gaza.
According to a report by Lusa, the road in question is the Wenela Road in Neighborhood 8, which served as an alternative for motorists following damage caused by January’s floods to the second bridge over the Nguluzane River on the N1.
Consequently, the mayor of Xai-Xai, Ossumane Adamo, urged residents to avoid using that route, suggesting they use the main road to access the city, given the rising water levels and increased current resulting from the rain over the past ten days.
The government has estimated that at least $644 million will be needed to repair the damage caused by the heavy rains over the past 20 days, which have resulted in flooding in various regions of the country, with the greatest impact in the central and southern areas.
Among the most significant losses is the damage to approximately three kilometers of National Highway No. 1, the main road connecting Mozambique from north to south, a situation that has exacerbated difficulties in the movement of people and the transport of essential goods.
Late last year, the government approved the national contingency plan for the 2025–26 rainy season, estimated at 14 billion meticais. However, it acknowledged that it had only 6 billion meticais of the required funds.
According to data from the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD), the death toll from the current rainy season in Mozambique has risen to 296 since October 2025, affecting more than one million people across the country, with 17 still missing and 351 injured.
The country is considered one of the hardest hit by climate change, facing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones. During the last rainy season, between 2024 and 2025, Mozambique was struck by cyclones Chido, Dikeledi, and Jude, which killed at least 313 people, injured 1,255, and affected more than 1.8 million.
