XAI-XAI/MAPUTO, — Mozambique’s regional capital Xai-Xai has been inundated by rising floodwaters after weeks of torrential rain across southern Africa, forcing mass evacuations and intensifying concerns over food shortages, cholera and other water-borne diseases. Humanitarian agencies warn the emergency is rapidly expanding as access to clean water, healthcare and shelter deteriorates in the worst-hit districts.
Local authorities said evacuation centres in Gaza Province are under acute pressure. Working with Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Risk Management (INGD), officials are scrambling to scale up shelter capacity, food distribution and medical services as displaced families arrive in large numbers. “In less than 24 hours, over 10,000 people have arrived at the centre, so we need to strengthen the shelters, increase food supplies, and also provide more medicine,” said Cândido Mapute, the INGD’s regional director.
The crisis has hit agriculture particularly hard in Limpopo Province, where floodwaters have cut off rural communities and destroyed farms at the peak of the growing season. District administrator Virgílio Muchanga said authorities had rescued around 40 people amid rapidly rising waters that have isolated villages and farmland.
International assistance is also being mobilised. Members of the Portuguese Air Force are on the ground to assess needs and relay requirements for potential support deployments, according to Lt.-Col. Figueira of the Air Force Rapid Reaction Force.
Humanitarian agencies say the floods have wiped out crops relied upon by millions of small-scale farmers, creating a near-term food security shock that could deepen into malnutrition if supply chains remain disrupted. UNICEF warned that children are especially exposed as families lose safe water sources and healthcare access becomes uncertain, noting that disrupted services can rapidly escalate routine illness into life-threatening conditions.
Health officials also warn that cholera and other water-borne outbreaks often follow major floods, particularly where sanitation systems collapse and people are crowded into temporary shelters.
The disaster spans beyond Mozambique. Across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa, authorities and aid groups report more than 100 deaths, with the toll expected to rise as floodwaters recede and access improves to submerged areas
