SANDF sends rescue team to aid Mozambique amid devastating floods

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has extended its flood response efforts beyond national borders by deploying a specialised search and rescue team to assist in Mozambique’s escalating flood crisis.

Following weeks of torrential rainfall across southern Africa, severe flooding has devastated large areas of Mozambique, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents and overwhelming local emergency services.

According to Mozambique’s disaster management authorities, at least 103 people have died as intense rains inundated central and southern provinces, leaving at least 200,000 people affected and thousands of homes damaged or destroyed. 

Among those missing is City of Ekurhuleni Member of the Mayoral Committee for Roads and Transport (MMC), Andile Mngwevu, who went missing after the vehicle he was travelling in was swept away by floodwaters in Chokwé, a small town in southern Mozambique. He was with an official delegation visiting the country.

The flooding in Mozambique has forced tens of thousands into evacuation shelters and disrupted essential infrastructure, including food supply and water systems.

The SANDF said in a statement on Sunday that as part of Operation CHARIOT, a South African Air Force Oryx helicopter and an advance search and rescue team have been deployed to Maputo to support Mozambican authorities in their emergency response.

The aircraft and personnel “landed successfully in Maputo, and will operate in cooperation with various emergency rescue teams as well as disaster management agencies of Mozambique,” the SANDF said, underscoring the priority of coordinated multinational action in the face of worsening conditions.

The deployment follows SANDF’s ongoing domestic operations to assist communities in South Africa’s Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, where flooding from prolonged heavy rains has left people stranded and infrastructure damaged.

The SANDF statement noted that “more air assets are scheduled to be deployed from South Africa to assist in the rescue mission” indicating an escalation in resources committed to addressing the regional crisis.

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