Post floods reconstruction update

The Instituto Nacional De Gestao De Calamidades (INGC) in Mozambique says in its latest report that a number of areas hit by floods in the northern part of the Gaza Province were still in urgent need of humanitarian aid. The INGC said that an assessment team from the INGC and the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development and Industry and Commerce visited the districts of Chicualacula and Mabalane. The team had also planned to visit Massangena and Chigubo, but were unable to because of poor road conditions. A food crisis In the district of Chicualacula, the INGC quoted the district authorities as saying that a food crisis was “imminent” in the higher areas because of crop losses from the severe floods in February and March, and because the second season crops were not possible in these higher areas. The INGC said that peasant farmers in the district required 77 mt of seeds. It said that World Relief had distributed 33.7 mt and the agriculture ministry 2.8 mt, leaving a shortfall of about 40.5 mt. The INGC added that the lack of access to Chicualcuala had caused “severe shortages” of commercial goods. “It is reported that the price of basic products has more than doubled since the floods earlier this year,” the INGC said. Water supply in the district was also a concern as the transportation of water from Chokwe was no longer possible because of the damaged railway bridge at Macarretane. “The population is currently using untreated water from rivers and lakes,” the INGC warned. The situation in the Massangena district was described as “calamitous”. The INGC said that the district administration was currently functioning in tents. “The local authorities estimated that food reserves in the district are enough to feed families until August,” the INGC noted. It said that one person had died recently when a landmine, which had been dislodged by the floods, had exploded. District authorities also told the assessment team that there had been an increase in malnutrition since the flooding and that the authorities were investigating establishing a therapeutic feeding centre. Road access The supply situation in the Mabalane district was very “precarious” because of difficult road access, the INGC said. “Prices on the local market are consequently very high. Public officials in various departments received no salaries since February because of problems in dispatching funds to the district,” the INGC said. It said that the district was not receiving any food aid nor were there any stocks to implement food-for-work-projects. The INGC said that the treatment of malnutrition in the area was being hampered by a lack of milk powder, oil and sugar. “The district authorities have registered two deaths from malnutrition in April,” it said. The report said that the transfer of people to the hospital in Chokwe was difficult because of road conditions and that six patients had died during transfers since the floods. Resettlement The INGC said that the remaining families in the accommodation centres in Macia district had been resettled and that the Chiaquelane accommodation centre had been closed. “The displaced population who had been housed in the Chinhacanine accommodation centre, about 4,130 families, have been resettled in Manjangue,” it said. Inhambane Province Access roads in the province were still in poor condition, particularly in the Mabote, Funhalouro, Inhasoro and Vilankulo districts.