Flooding across southern Africa has severed critical transport routes, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and left governments and aid agencies struggling to respond. Southern Mozambique has suffered the heaviest toll so far.

Authorities say more than 645,000 people have been affected nationwide, with at least 112 deaths recorded so far.

Over 91,000 people are sheltering in 68 temporary accommodation centers, while 99 others have been injured. Thousands of homes, classrooms and health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, stretching emergency services and disrupting access to education and healthcare.

Torrential rain across southern Africa

The scale of the rainfall has overwhelmed both forecasts and infrastructure. In several districts, precipitation reached up to 250 millimeters within 24 hours, saturating river systems and breaching embankments.

Roads and bridges failed rapidly, particularly in low-lying areas that have long been vulnerable to seasonal flooding.

Movement across the country has been severely restricted. Large sections of the main road leading out of Maputo were cut, while early assessments indicate that nearly 800 kilometers (497 miles) of roads nationwide have been damaged or destroyed.

Mozambican authorities say they are turning to alternative transport to prevent shortages.

Minister of Transport Joao Matlombe said rail services were being used to move people and supplies, explaining that inspections showed railways were operational up to Magude town, around 150 kilometers north of Maputo. 

He said the government was deploying "air transport, maritime transport, and the railway" to ensure provinces did not run out of essential goods.

Neighboring South Africa has deployed air force helicopters in cross-border operations to assist Mozambique. It said it had rescued nearly 500 stranded people there, as well as people stuck in trees and on the tops of buildings in South Africa's northern provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. 

Traders trapped

Rising waters have cut off major highways linking the capital Maputo to southern provinces, stranding dozens of minibus drivers who ferry goods and passengers between rural districts and urban centers.

For many, the disruption has translated directly into financial loss.

Abel Chavango, a minibus driver marooned by floodwaters, said the goods he was transporting had been ruined.

"I have merchandise from people and it's already very rotten, now I will have a problem with them. Everything is rotten in the car. I had flour, the rain soaked all the flour, onion, potatoes, it's all rotten," he said.

Chavango said he now faces uncertainty over how to compensate traders whose goods were destroyed.

"I am responsible for this merchandise, but I have no way to pay for it," Chavango said, adding that he was still far from home and unsure how the situation would be resolved once he arrived.

Children severely affected in Mozambique

UNICEF spokesperson Guy Taylor said the flooding has spread across multiple river basins, leaving vast areas inundated.

"Mozambique is facing a major flooding emergency," he said. Taylor added that "600,000 people have been impacted, around 70,000 people forced to flee their homes," and that "more than half of these people, who have been forced to flee, are children."

Taylor warned access constraints were complicating humanitarian response efforts, saying floodwaters were making it "very difficult to reach some of these communities." He said aid agencies were relying on boats and helicopters to distribute supplies.

"The fact that Mozambique is now entering into its annual cyclone season creates the risk of a double crisis," Taylor told reporters, adding the risk of waterborne disease was particularly high given the considerable levels of malnutrition among children.

SADC inundated

The crisis extends to Mozambique's neighbors. Flooding linked to the same weather systems has affected parts of Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, pushing the total number of people affected across southern Africa to about 1.3 million, according to health agencies.

In South Africa, the floods have inflicted extensive environmental and economic damage. Kruger National Park, the country's largest and world-renowned wildlife reserve, suffered heavy losses as swollen rivers tore through internal road networks, bridges and tourist infrastructure.

Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Willie Aucamp said recovery costs would exceed R500 million (€26 million; $31 million).

"It will take as long as five years to repair all the bridges and roads and other infrastructure in the park," he told reporters.

As rescue teams from countries including South Africa, the United Kingdom and Brazil continue to support operations across the region, aid agencies warn recovery will be slow.

With further rainfall forecast in parts of southern Africa, officials say displacement could rise further.

Edited by: Cai Nebe