Responding to Floods in Northern and Central provinces of Mozambique

On 12 January 2015, the Council of Ministers of Mozambique declared an institutional red alert for the central and northern parts of the country due to heavy rains and consequent floods which have covered vast areas. The government is distributing food and non-food items to affected people and WFP has pre-positioned food to complement the government’s efforts in the most affected areas.

The government requested, through the UN Resident Coordinator, immediate support from donors and international partners to meet the humanitarian needs and ensure sustainable recovery of flood-affected populations. The request is in line with the Government Contingency Plan for the 2014/2015 rainy and cyclone season.

The number of affected people reported by the government is increasing, from 53,000 on 16 January to 120,000 people on 19 January. Of these, approximately 50,000 are housed in 49 accommodation centres, including schools and religious centres.

WFP is prepositioning commodities (maize meal, pulses and oil) close to the most affected districts to support an initial caseload of 12,500 people for one month.

On 19 January, WFP positioned a mobile storage unit in Quelimane, Zambézia province, which is ready to be moved to where it is most needed. WFP also remains on standby to support the government with additional transport.

Through the HCT, WFP provided the government on 15 January with three short-range radio antennas (with one dipole), and one medium-range radio antenna (with four dipoles) for affected districts of Mocuba, Namacurra and Mangaja da Costa.

WFP deployed vehicles with VHF and HF communication systems to Mocuba and Quelimane on 18 January.

All WFP emergency support interventions are being carried out in the context of the Humanitarian Country Team and in close collaboration with the government and local humanitarian partners.

WFP Mozambique urgently needs some USD 5.5 million USD to provide three months of food assistance to 100,000 people who are currently estimated to have been affected by floods in central and northern Mozambique.