Wednesday afternoon, I sat with my landlady as she recounted stories of the floods of 2000. She assured me that the rains this year were not that bad as in the year 2000. That night, I got a text from Peace Corps to be on "standfast" in the event that they needed to evacuate all Peace Corps Volunteers in the area.
Thursday morning, I went to the hospital and continued to work, but started to ask other colleagues about the stories of 2000 and the probability of it happening this year. Around 11 a.m., I heard that Chokwe, a district capital along the Limpopo River about 110 km away from Chicumbane, was flooded. I received the call that Peace Corps cars had left from Maputo to pick up Peace Corps Volunteers throughout Gaza Province and evacuate us to Maputo. I couldn't understand why I had to leave because, while Chicumbane is located near the Limpopo River, it is on higher ground elevated above the river valley and there didn't seem to be a posing threat. One of the hospital nurses, Vovo Minda, told me that I had to go because I was not Mozambican and I wouldn't know how to handle the situation, but that they would be okay, they have been through this before. While they may have experienced this before, one can still never be ready to experience a humanitarian crisis such as this. We have been compiling up-to-date information on the situation on my friends' blog.
Now, four days later, we have heard the water has filled the river valley area that connects Chicumbane and Xai-Xai. Chicumbane is dependent on Xai-Xai for access to food, banking and other amenities. The river waters have destroyed the two bridges along the national highway in the valley. And in Xai-Xai, the water level has risen into the city forcing thousands to evacuate.
Chicumbane is lucky in its geographic location to avoid water entering the village, but there are several communities in Gaza that have experienced devastating flooding. And this flooding came without much warning and time to prepare. A hundred thousand people were displaced from Chokwe and Guija. Many were forced to seek refuge on the roofs of buildings and in the tops of trees stranded without food and water.
We are in the middle of the rainy season here in Mozambique. While it has rained for much of January, the rains in South Africa and Zimbabwe contributed to the flooding. South Africa was forced to open several dams in rivers that converge into the Limpopo releasing even more water causing the rivers to overflow. Already this time of year is known as "tempo de fome" (time of hunger) in Mozambique, but the recent flooding will further exacerbate this situation. I have already heard from my neighbor that a sack of flour, which is normally 240 meticais is up to 320 meticais. But this is just the beginning of what is predicted to get a lot worse.
Since Thursday, I have been in Maputo with my fellow evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers. We have been trying to stay on top of the news and in touch with our friends, neighbors and colleagues back in our communities. While the water is moving from Chokwe to Xai-Xai and eventually down the river out to the Indian Ocean, the effects of this humanitarian crisis are far from over. It is reported that aid is being delivered to the port of Beira, located 800 kilometers away, and expected to be brought to the Xai-Xai area.
All of the evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers are expected to have a meeting tomorrow to learn more about the current situation. While we are all anxious and restless to help in any way that we can, we know that we need to wait and see where the greatest needs lie in our communities and how we can channel our energy to address them.
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