Classnotes: 5th January 2007: Flooding in Mozambique

We covered the floods in Mozambique that happened in the year 2000.

Background about Mozambique
- Located in the south east of Africa
- Capital city is Maputo
- Population 18 million
- Life expectancy is 47 years (around 79 for the UK)
- One of the world's poorest countries

The main causes of the floods
- Mozambique is mainly flat land
- February 2000: 1163mm rainfall compared to average of 177mm
- February 21st 2000 – Cyclone (Hurricane) Eline hits southern Mozambique
- The Kariba Dam was opened to stop it overflowing causing a wave of water in the River Zambesi in Zambia

The effects of the floods
- 1 million people temporarily homeless...
- ...of which 490,000 lost their homes entirely and had to start again
- Around 700 people killed
- 140,000 Hectares of land flooded
- Cities flooded included Xai Xai, Machanga and Maputo
- Flooding occured along the Rivers Save, Zambesi, Limpopo and Incomati

The response to the flooding
- Britain donated £5.8million and cancelled Mozambique's debts
- Italy gave £3.3million
- Japan provided tents and equipment worth £62,500