By MOZTIMES
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – Mozambique will delay the start of the 2026 school year by a month due to flooding in the south of the country, which has affected more than 812,000 people, about half of whom are teachers and students, the Council of Ministers announced on Tuesday in a statement.
The return to school had been scheduled for the first week of February but has now been postponed to the end of the month, as over 427,000 pupils and 9,204 teachers were directly affected by the floods.
In total, the floods affected 431 schools, destroyed 281 classrooms and led to 80 schools being converted into temporary accommodation centres for displaced people. A further 218 schools remain surrounded by floodwaters.
In addition to the education sector, the health service has also been severely affected. According to data from the Mozambican relief agency, the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management (INGD), 229 health facilities were impacted.
The rains also damaged 3,447 houses and completely destroyed 771 homes, as well as damaging 1,336.5 kilometres of roads, including stretches of the country’s main north-south highway, National Road Number One (EN1), which is currently cut in Manhiça district, about 100 kilometres north of Maputo, disrupting road traffic between southern and northern Mozambique.
Of the 812,335 people affected by the rainy season since October last year, 691,522 were affected in the past 20 days alone, since 9 January, triggering a humanitarian emergency due to the need to assist a large number of people in a short period of time. The floods have caused 137 confirmed deaths, more than 148 injuries and six people are reported as missing.
Mozambique requires 6.6 billion meticais to respond to the flood emergency and has been receiving assistance from several countries and international organisations, including financial commitments. Recently, the Norwegian government announced a contribution of two million US dollars, while the United States government pledged one million dollars.
In recent days, water levels have begun to recede following a reduction in rainfall, allowing rescue teams to reach more remote areas where people remain trapped, clinging onto rooftops, trees or patches of high ground. (MT)
