Enhance resilience to floods by introducing technology for flood risk mapping and simulation to formulate relevant policies and counter measures in the most flood affected areas.

Background

Mozambique is situated in tropical and subtropical regions, with over 48% of its population vulnerable to droughts and floods. In the past 35 years, Mozambique has experienced 75 declared disasters, including 13 droughts, 25 floods, and 14 tropical cyclones. The agricultural sector, which contributes 30% to the GDP, is particularly susceptible to these natural disasters, leading to significant food insecurity. Annually, tropical cyclones place about 2 million people at high risk, while floods affect approximately 200,000 individuals on average.

Climate change is anticipated to exacerbate these risks by increasing cyclone damage and widespread flooding due to rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns. Effective flood risk mitigation is therefore a fundamental issue for climate adaptation in Mozambique.

Despite recent efforts to enhance disaster management capabilities, Mozambique still faces significant challenges in developing a comprehensive climate adaptation strategy, particularly in flood risk reduction. To address flood risk effectively, the government must implement strategies based on hazard degree, exposure, risk, and vulnerability assessments. However, there is a need for advanced technical tools to analyze these factors and create detailed hazard maps in flood-prone areas. Developing and continuously updating hazard maps using historical data is essential for improving Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) capacity. The lack of such tools and capacity building remains one of the most critical issues in Mozambique's disaster management efforts.

CTCN Support

Given the increasing risk of flooding, this technical assistance seeks to enhance current mechanisms by deploying an intuitive, web-based flood simulation software. This tool is specifically designed for local disaster risk management policymakers to help them identify at-risk areas and develop necessary policy and infrastructure measures for DRR. Unlike existing projects, this initiative targets policymakers who may not be experts in river systems or civil engineering. Therefore, in addition to introducing the simulation software, the TA will include comprehensive capacity training for officials, ensuring the technology is effectively used as a crucial reference in DRR policymaking.

Expected outcome

The objective is to strengthen resilience to floods by introducing a web-based flood hazard mapping and simulation software in the most flood-affected areas. The main outcomes are:

1. Developing capacity among key stakeholders, including concerned officials, through training on disaster risk reduction (DRR) planning using a flood risk simulation.
2. Enhancing resilience against climate change-induced flooding in pilot sites by integrating flood risk analysis and DRR measure planning.