INTERNATIONAL rescue teams from the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa have been deployed to Mozambique after surging floodwaters submerged entire communities, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes. Elderly residents say the disaster is the most severe flooding they have witnessed in decades in the southeastern African nation.
Among those displaced is 67-year-old farmer Francisco Fernando Chivindzi, a father of nine, who described losing everything when the waters rose far beyond what anyone expected. His home, farm, household appliances, clothing and livestock were all swept away.
“Our farms are under water. I grow rice, and this flood reached a level we have never seen before,” he told the BBC. “We lost our houses, animals and food. We will have to start life again from nothing.”
Although grateful to have reached higher ground, Mr Chivindzi said many people were initially reluctant to leave their properties, choosing instead to cling to rooftops and trees as the waters spread. He urged others to put safety ahead of possessions, saying that life mattered more than material goods.
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He is now staying at one of several emergency shelters established in churches and schools near the town of Marracuene, about 19 miles north of the capital, Maputo. Around 4,000 people have taken refuge in six such facilities in that area alone, representing only a fraction of those displaced nationwide.
According to ReliefWeb, a United Nations disaster-response platform, nearly 100 shelters are currently housing more than 100,000 people across the flood-affected regions. The scale of the crisis is even larger, with an estimated 616,720 people impacted nationwide. The provinces of Gaza, Maputo and Sofala have suffered the worst damage.
As conditions worsened, the government declared a nationwide Red Alert on January 16, making evacuations mandatory and stepping up emergency operations. Updated figures show extensive destruction of homes, vital infrastructure and farmland, placing heavy strain on already stretched humanitarian resources, Yahoo reported.
In parts of Maputo, floodwaters reached the rooftops of buildings, while a major highway was submerged, isolating the capital from the rest of the country. Satellite data from ‘The International Charter: Space and Major Disasters’ confirms the scale of the destruction, reporting that more than 82,600 homes have been damaged or destroyed. At least 123 people have died and over 100 have been injured.
Humanitarian agencies say the disaster underscores Mozambique’s growing exposure to extreme climate events. The United Nations Development Programme notes that the country is among the poorest in the world and among those most frequently hit by natural disasters, many of which are linked to climate change.
Experts warn that the floods could become one of the world’s first billion-dollar weather disasters of 2026. Climate scientists have already traced the influence of global warming on several major extreme weather events in 2025.
Insurance firm Gallagher Re reported that there were 55 weather disasters worldwide last year that each caused more than $1 billion in losses. The company said rising global temperatures were intensifying storms, accelerating sea-level rise along Africa’s coastlines, and worsening crop failures that fuel food insecurity across the continent.
For survivors like Chivindzi, the focus now is on rebuilding, even as the long road to recovery begins. “We will start again,” he said. “That is our only choice.”
Nigeria’s recent experience
Nigeria has faced similar devastation in recent years, with repeated flooding displacing millions and wiping out entire communities across several states. From the riverine areas of Bayelsa and Rivers to inland states such as Kogi, Benue and Niger, rising waters have become an almost annual emergency.
In 2022, Nigeria recorded its worst flooding in over a decade, with more than 600 people killed and over 1.3 million displaced nationwide. Entire towns were submerged after the Niger and Benue rivers burst their banks, destroying homes, schools, hospitals and farmlands across 30 states.
“Continuous heavy rains have collapsed hundreds of public health facilities, water systems and sanitation facilities, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases, such as cholera, Diarrhea, and malaria,” Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Ms Juliet Chiluwe, said on December 4, 2022.
The impact on food production has been severe. Vast rice, maize and cassava farms were washed away, worsening food shortages and pushing prices higher. Communities that depended on subsistence farming were left without both shelter and income, forcing many families to rely on humanitarian aid.
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Infrastructure losses in Nigeria have also mirrored those seen in Mozambique. Key highways and bridges were cut off, electricity facilities were damaged, and water systems contaminated, making it difficult for emergency responders to reach isolated communities.
Climate experts in Nigeria have repeatedly warned that rising temperatures, heavier rainfall and poor urban drainage are combining to make floods more destructive each year. Unplanned settlements along riverbanks and blocked drainage channels in major cities such as Lagos and Ibadan have further increased the risk.
Despite these challenges, Nigerian communities have shown resilience. Local volunteers, religious groups and civil society organisations often step in to provide food, temporary shelter and medical assistance when government resources are stretched thin.
As Mozambique begins its long recovery, Nigeria’s experience serves as a reminder that African nations are on the front line of climate-driven disasters. Without stronger early-warning systems, climate adaptation funding and resilient infrastructure, floods will continue to erase livelihoods and deepen poverty across the continent.
