Farmland was inundated, but is not yet clear whether crops have been lost. The administrator of Caia district, Joao Saize, said the situation is not yet a matter of concern. Nonetheless, the district authorities are surveying the public and private facilities affected by the flooding.
Further downstream, in Marromeu district, the Zambezi on Monday surpassed the flood alert level of five metres and is continuing to rise.
In Muchanga district, also in Sofala, the level of the Save river has continued to rise. According to the district administrator, Tome Jose, the area of farmland affected by the flood has risen to 1,461 hectares.
The number of schools flooded in the district rose on Monday to 21, out of a total of 45. This means that 7,014 pupils were not able to attend classes on the first day of the 2017 school year.
Muchanga town is isolated and seven access roads in the district are impassable.
In the neighbouring district of Chibabava, traffic along the main north-south highway (EN1) has been restricted since Thursday, because the torrential rains have opened a deep crater n the road, alongside the Ripembe river.
Tuesday’s issue of the National Hydrological Bulletin, issued by the National Directorate of Water Resources, reported an improvement in the basin of the Buzi river, also in Sofala. The road between Buzi town and Guara-Guara has been reopened to traffic. But ferry services across the Buzi, between Guara-Guara and Bandua, remain suspended. The Pungoe river, at the Mafambisse sugar plantation, remains above alert level, but is stabilizing.
There is still no relief for the residents of the Greater Maputo Metropolitan Area, who have been facing a severe water shortage for the past fortnight. The heavy rains experienced elsewhere in the country, and in Maputo city, had little or no impact on the Umbeluzi river, the source of Maputo’s drinking water.
The water for Maputo and Matola cities, and Boane district is stored in the reservoir at the Pequenos Libombos dam, which feeds the Umbeluzi, and the reservoir remains at critically low levels.
On Monday the reservoir was only13.9 per cent full. With little sign of rain in the upper Umbeluzi basin, the current rationing of water in Maputo could continue for months.
The Maputo Regional Water Company (AdeM) is pumping water to Maputo, Matola and Boane neighbourhoods on alternate days. That is, a neighbourhood that receives water on Tuesday will not receive it on Wednesday.
Post published in: Africa News