Floods Kill Over 100 in Southern Africa

Torrential rains have claimed more than 100 lives across southern Africa, triggering widespread flooding and mass evacuations in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe as authorities brace for additional severe weather.

The disaster, unfolding since late last year, has affected central and southern regions of Mozambique most severely, where the Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction reported 103 deaths from drowning, lightning strikes, collapsing infrastructure and a cholera outbreak tied to contaminated water. More than 200,000 people have been impacted nationwide, with thousands of homes damaged and tens of thousands requiring evacuation, according to the World Food Programme. Floodwaters have submerged over 70,000 hectares of crops, including staples like rice and corn, exacerbating food shortages in a nation already grappling with poverty and frequent cyclones.

In South Africa, officials reported at least 30 fatalities in the northern provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, where weeks of heavy rainfall, totaling around 400 millimeters in less than a week in some areas, overwhelmed rivers and swept away homes. President Cyril Ramaphosa visited flood-stricken parts...