“We responded to a call from the Government,” said Tomás Matola, Chair of the Board of Directors of HCB, detailing the assistance provided by the company in addition to the air assets. “As one of the country’s largest companies, and within the scope of our social responsibility, we mobilised, within our budget, an amount that enabled us to acquire a set of items to support the INGD [National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction] in this cause,” Matola said. “The assistance, which falls under the company’s social responsibility initiatives, includes the delivery of 30 mobile toilets, 100 tents, 1,500 mattresses, 1,500 blankets, 1,500 mosquito nets, 10,000 kilograms of rice, 15,000 kilograms of flour, 1,000 kilograms of beans, 500 kilograms of coarse salt, 200 kilograms of sugar and 200 units of 5-litre cooking oil, intended for populations currently accommodated in temporary shelters,” reads a communiqué from HCB.
“In addition, HCB ensured the hire of 11 aircraft (nine helicopters and two light aircraft), placed at the disposal of the INGD for a period of seven days, with the aim of strengthening search, rescue and humanitarian assistance operations in the affected areas,” it adds. Government spokesperson Inocêncio Impissa said yesterday that, in Gaza province alone, around 1,200 people who were trapped in trees and on rooftops have already been rescued, using helicopters and small boats. According to the Government, among those rescued are women, children, elderly people and patients who were stranded on the roofs of their homes.
The total number of deaths during the current rainy season in Mozambique has risen to 122, with six people missing, 99 injured and 682,000 affected, according to the INGD database accessed by Lusa, with figures covering the period from 1 October to this afternoon, already including the current phase of widespread flooding in the country. INGD data indicate that, to date, 682,060 people have been affected, equivalent to 142,914 families, with 11,433 houses partially destroyed and 4,971 totally destroyed, worsening the previous toll. The floods are causing destruction and affecting activities at various levels.
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One example is the suspension of school textbook distribution announced today by the provincial government of Inhambane, in the south of the country, in order to avoid losses during transport or storage in educational establishments. Rescue actions and attempts involving hundreds of families who remain cut off by the floods continued today, particularly in Maputo and Gaza, in southern Mozambique, as a result of heavy rainfall that has been almost uninterrupted for several days and has forced dams, including those in neighbouring countries, to significantly increase discharges due to lack of capacity.
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