MAPUTO, Mozambique — A newborn girl delivered on a school desk in flood-hit southern Mozambique has been named Rosita, reviving the memory of Rosita Salvador Mabuiango — the “miracle baby” born in a treetop during the catastrophic 2000 floods who became a national symbol of resilience but died this month aged 25 after a long illness.
The baby’s mother, Erica Raimundo Mimbir, said she went into labour after days trapped by rising water. She was first taken to a hospital, but floodwaters overwhelmed the facility, forcing evacuees to spend the night standing until rescuers transported them by boat to a school used as an emergency shelter. With water still high inside the building, she found a desk — “the only dry place” — and gave birth there.
Mozambique has been battered by weeks of torrential rain and overflowing rivers and dams, with the southern provinces among the hardest hit. The UN’s aid coordination office (OCHA) says more than half a million people have been affected as flooding continues and dam releases persist to prevent failures. UNICEF warns the disaster is rapidly escalating, turning unsafe water, disease outbreaks and malnutrition into a deadly threat for children — especially as Mozambique enters its cyclone season, raising the risk of a “double crisis.”
Emergency crews have carried out aerial assessments and rescues over submerged farmland and cut-off communities, while damaged roads, bridges and power infrastructure have slowed aid delivery. Relief agencies say crops relied upon by millions of small-scale farmers have been wiped out in some areas, heightening the risk of hunger.
The naming of the newborn Rosita comes as the country mourns Mabuiango, whose dramatic birth during the 2000 floods drew global attention and hope in a disaster that killed roughly 700–800 people. Her death has resonated amid the latest deluge, which officials and humanitarian workers describe as among the most severe in years.
Authorities have urged residents to heed evacuation orders and weather alerts as forecasts continue to warn of more heavy rainfall in the south.
