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Death toll from Mozambique flooding rises to 159

Tuesday, 03 February 2015 10:45 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 03 February 2015 10:45 AM ]

The file photo shows a flooded street in Mozambique.

The death toll from devastating floods in the northern and central parts of Mozambique has reached 159, with nearly 160,000 people affected, a report says.

“There are now 158,000 victims,” Rita Almeida, a spokeswoman for the National Institute of Disaster Management, said on Monday.

Mozambique’s central province of Zambezia was the worst affected with 134 killed and 125,000 affected since mid-January, when floods triggered by heavy rains battered the southern African country.

Mozambique’s deadliest floods were in 2000 when an estimated 800 people lost their lives.

The impact of the floods on the Mozambican economy will likely be significant since 80 percent of the population in the African state depend on agriculture.

South Africa's Standard Bank has already revised Mozambique's growth forecast for 2015 to 6.5 percent from 7.5 percent.

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