Xai Xai and Chokwe flood plains

 

The 2000 Mozambique flood was a natural disaster that occurred in February and March 2000. The catastrophic flooding was caused by heavy rainfall that lasted for five weeks and made many homeless. Approximately 800 people were killed. 1,400 km² of arable land was affected and 20,000 head of cattle were lost. It was the worst flood in Mozambique in 50 years...

 

The floods began on 8 February with a lot of rain across South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland. Mozambique received the most rainfall, the capital Maputo was flooded. Torrential rain continued to the 11th of February, in Mozambique's Limpopo Valley, the banks of the Limpopo River burst, causing severe flood damage and a dysentery outbreak in the local population. On 22 February, tropical Cyclone Leon Eline hit the Mozambican coast near Beira.

On February 27, flash floods overwhelmed low farmlands around Chokwe and Xai-Xai.

Over 50,000 people were rescued from rooftops, trees and other isolated and flooded areas. This effort was at first carried out by only a few Mozambican naval vessels. The governments of South Africa, Malawi, and Mozambique provided a few helicopters to the rescue team. One of the devastating images of the flooding was Sofia Pedro giving birth in a tree while surrounded by flood water. She was then rescued by the South African Air Force who flew both her and her new daughter Rositha Pedro to Chibuto.

 

 

This is the area around Chokwe and Xai - Xai which this year from about the 5th of January saw almost the same picture they saw in 2000. The Limpopo valley flooded again, washing the bridge to Xai Xai away.

 

Dru and I were starting to get a bit worried about if we will even be able to reach our destination if the rains continued, luckily by the time we got there they were already busy rebuilding the bridge to Xai Xai and our travels were in full swing.

 

Our thoughts go out to all the people who lost loved ones during this years floods.