MOZAMBIQUE: 80,000 EVACUATED AND 100,000 AT RISK AS FLOODS AGAIN SWEEP THE CENTRAL PLAINS

One year after Mozambique’s worst floods for decades, rains again sweep the central area of the country, with 80,000 people already having been evacuated from their homes and a further 100,000 at risk as the massive Cahora Bassa dam threatens to burst its banks. In recent days, Cahora Bassa dam, responsible for the electricity supply of a large part of Mozambique, has received 11,000 cubic metres of water per second. This massive intake means that it has to discharge water downstream onto the already flooded plains. Mozambique does not have the means to respond to the threat, which it hopes will not turn into a full-blown crisis, like last year. The signs are already bleak as the government waits for the worst.

TIMOTHY BANCROFT-HINCHEY, PRAVDA.RU, LISBON