The National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD) has revealed that it is struggling to mobilize the 78.3 million meticais (1.2 million dollars) needed to mitigate the negative impacts expected from the 2025-26 rainy season in Cabo Delgado province, in northern Mozambique.
During a meeting of the Emergency Operations Committee, which brought together members of the provincial government and partners, INGD delegate Marques Tamadune Naba admitted that the institution does not currently have the necessary funds and is seeking support from various stakeholders. He emphasized that assistance is expected to be provided to more than 200,000 people in rural and urban areas at risk of flooding.
“Approximately 200,000 people are at risk. Strong winds, heavy rains, and flooding are expected in towns and in certain mapped and high-risk areas. We are working to mobilize the required funds,” the official told Lusa.
Recently, the Bank of Mozambique (BdM) indicated that floods projected for the first quarter of 2026 could have negative impacts on the economy, particularly on food supply, one of the factors that could constrain growth prospects.
“For 2026, three main domestic assumptions have been identified: maintaining high pressure on the State Budget, the gradual restoration of productive capacity and the supply of goods and services, and the forecast of floods in the country,” the financial institution stated in its Economic Outlook and Inflation Report. In September, authorities warned of “large-scale” floods in the country and inundations affecting at least four million hectares of agricultural land during the 2025-26 rainy season.
“Between January, February, and March, we expect heavy rains and large-scale floods, what we classify as a high regime, particularly in the Incomati, Maputo, and Limpopo river basins,” said Agostinho Vilanculos, national director of Water Resources Management.
According to Vilanculos, dams in Mozambique’s neighboring countries, including South Africa and Eswatini, are at 99% of their storage capacity. This leaves little room to absorb additional water, which will result in overflow and consequent flooding in Mozambique.
“If the dams are full, they have no capacity to absorb water. So, any rainfall in neighboring countries will turn into runoff and flow into our country,” warned Vilanculos, highlighting the municipalities of Matola, Maputo, Beira, and Quelimane as “high-risk areas for flooding.”
Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change, cyclically facing floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which occurs annually from October to April. Between December and March of the last cyclone season, Mozambique was hit by three cyclones, including Chido—the first and most severe—at the end of 2024.
The number of cyclones hitting the country “has been increasing over the last decade,” as has wind intensity, according to the 2024 State of the Climate report by the Mozambique Institute of Meteorology, released in March.
Extreme events caused at least 1,016 deaths in Mozambique between 2019 and 2023, affecting around 4.9 million people, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics.
Source: Diário Económico
