With more than 860 million people currently living in flood-prone urban areas worldwide, this is an increasingly common story. On top of the obvious human cost, large flood events can also reduce a city’s economic activity by as much as 8%.
This World Water Day, we investigated how floods hurt people’s jobs and livelihoods in cities and how governments responded.
In Maputo, poor people displaced by floods receive little support
Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, remains attractive to economic migrants and is growing by 1.5% per year. However, the increasing cost of properties in the city centre led informal settlements to expand into flood-prone areas.
Today, 82,000 people and 7% of all the city’s assets are at high risk of heavy rains and sea level rise, with marginalised areas and economic hubs (e.g. port and coastal real estate developments) being the most affected.
Climate-related disasters, like the cyclone Eline in 2000, are likely to happen again. Despite the economic vibrancy of the city (Maputo contributes 19-20% of Mozambique’s GDP), very little has been allocated to improving flood management and disaster risk reduction.
Hotels, restaurants and fancy apartment blocks continue to be built by the coast; the government’s attempts of land zoning are failing; and there is more and more building in flood-prone areas – especially within the informal settlements.
