Experts in natural disasters and land-use planning told Lusa yesterday that "negligence" and a "lack of land-use planning" aggravated the impact of the floods in the Maputo region, but the high "magnitude" enhanced the effect of the disaster.

"We haven't been preparing society and our institutions to deal with this type of extreme situation in the southern region," said Luís Artur, an engineer and disaster risk management specialist.

The expert pointed out that the authorities and communities in the southern region of Maputo have downplayed the impact of the floods, since the area has escaped the floods and cyclones that annually hit the center and north of the country.

Artur recalled that the fact that the deadliest floods in southern Mozambique happened more than 20 years ago, in 2000, led to a relaxation in the preparation of disaster prevention and management capacity in the region.

The researcher and lecturer at the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), the oldest in the country, noted that anti-disaster mechanisms such as early warning systems, contingency plans and management committees are underdeveloped in the south compared to the center and north, which have faced severe weather events in recent years.

"We need to boost the early warning system and better prepare communities," he stressed.

Luís Artur pointed out the importance of better coordination with neighboring countries, where the rivers that flow into southern Mozambique are downstream, in order to allow for better management of flows.

On the other hand, it is imperative to carry out an exhaustive mapping of flood risk zones in order to identify and plan the areas where people will be resettled.

The engineer acknowledged that the intensity of the rainfall in Maputo would have caused damage, even in a best-case scenario.

Luís Laje, an architect and lecturer at UEM, said that insufficient land-use planning in the Maputo region aggravated the impact of previous floods, because the floods found settlements in areas unsuitable for housing, with saturated soils, no drainage and no access roads.

"Planning and infrastructure can mitigate the rains and the amount of water, but sometimes there are situations in which these natural phenomena are extreme, which is what has now happened in Maputo," said Lage.

The expansion of housing areas in the Maputo region, he continued, has been carried out by private individuals and without complying with land-use planning legislation, because the state does not have the technical and financial capacity to do so.

"Territorial planning implies infrastructure," which will allow "the creation of access roads, access to water and energy, as well as the construction of drainage ditches," emphasized Luís Laje.

The architect noted that there are experiences in various parts of the world and even in Mozambique that show that it is possible to build in flood-prone areas, but these buildings have to be made with appropriate technology and means.

"Part of downtown Maputo was conquered from the sea" for the expansion of the country's capital, but it didn't flood because it was built with the necessary protection, he said.

The professor argued that the construction of housing and infrastructure should be subject to detailed plans that must be complied with, and that free will should not be allowed.

Despite pointing out deficiencies in land management, he also admitted that the Maputo region had suffered from unusually heavy rainfall in just a few days, making it difficult to implement prevention and mitigation measures.

Last week, Maputo province was affected by heavy rain, which affected at least 39,000 people and caused nine deaths, as well as isolating the municipality of Boane, just over 30 kilometers from the center of the Mozambican capital.

Since February 7, the southern region of Mozambique has been facing heavy rain and flooding, which has killed nine people and flooded 7,600 homes, causing damage to a total of 39,225 people, according to figures from the National Institute for Disaster Management.