Heavy rains destroyed at least 15 houses built of flimsy materials on Monday night and Tuesday morning, and rendered roads impassable in the outer neighbourhoods of the northern Mozambican city of Nampula.
There was 50 millimetres of rainfall in 24 hours in Nampula. The Nampula storms were caused by a tropical depression that has moved in from the Mozambique Channel and has been lashing the northern provinces.
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Coastal areas have been hit worse by the storms, with Mozambique Island taking a pounding for the past 48 hours. This morning the Nampula provincial governor, Victor Borges, made an emergency visit to Mozambique Island to assess the situation for himself.
The administrator of Nampula city, Alfredo Matata, told AIM that disaster management teams are on the ground, surveying the damage, and assisting the affected communities.
“The critical areas are Muhaivire and Namicopo neighbourhoods, where houses collapsed, and we need to help those who have been affected “, he said. “We also have roads that have become impassable in the areas of Namiepe and Marrere”.
But Matata could also look on the bright side, The Nampula rains would be viewed favourably by local peasant farmers.
“It’s good for the fields”, said Matata, “and it also brings relief to the city’s water supply, since the reservoir at the Nampula dam is now completely full”.
But wet conditions are also ideal for the spread of water borne diseases such as cholera. Matata urged residents of Nampula to treat their water before drinking it, and to ensure that foodstuffs are properly washed and conserved, to avoid any outbreaks of cholera or other diarrhoeal diseases.
Source: AIM
