The submerged country: How poor planning turned water into an excuse

Luis Munguambe Junior"

When the rains fall, water should be a source of hope, life, and abundance. But for us, it has repeatedly been synonymous with tragedy, destruction, and disillusionment. The floods that once again mark the calendar of our interrupted dreams and the emergency drills are, ultimately, an unforgiving mirror: the problem is not the rain, but the historical absence of planning and the persistent fragility of governance that affects us all.

We are under constant risk of floods and inundations, both in coastal areas and inland in our country. Year after year, we see experts repeatedly warning of the likelihood of large-scale floods, with the potential impact on millions of people in various river basins, especially the Incomáti, Limpopo, Maputo, and other vulnerable areas. These scenarios do not surprise us; they result from the State's structural inability to plan, prepare, and protect the population, and we, the citizens, are the ones who pay the price.

Historical records of floods in Mozambique show decades of devastating episodes in the Limpopo, Incomati, Búzi, Licungo, and other river basins. These events have already caused thousands of deaths and displacements, with significant and repeated economic impacts. But, despite this trajectory of successive disasters, the political and institutional response continues to be characterized by delayed reactions, insufficient emergency plans, and often, an inability to address the underlying problems. Even with advances in technological capabilities for weather forecasting, resulting from some investment in modernization, we face serious challenges: incomplete funding, underfunded contingency plans, and strategies that rely more on reactive responses than on structural and preventive actions. We cannot continue to accept that floods are considered a "natural tragedy," as if the problem were beyond our control. Intense rainfall and cyclones are part of global climate patterns, but the real tragedies emerge when institutions systematically fail to anticipate, mitigate, and protect. This failure is not accidental; It reflects an organizational and political culture that views risk management as something episodic, rather than a continuous, integrated process informed by science and technical data.

We are increasingly aware that negligence and a lack of territorial planning exacerbate the impact of floods. We see this in the urban areas of Maputo, where rapid urban growth, the disorderly occupation of risk zones, and insufficient drainage infrastructure exponentially increase the vulnerability of our communities.

Year after year, we witness the same cycle: buildings erected in unsuitable areas, uncontrolled occupation, and a state response that arrives too late. Risk management committees and contingency plans are only reactivated when disaster is imminent, when they should be fully operational throughout the year. Urban and water resource planning is essential to reduce the exposure of populations and our assets to flooding. Its absence has profound consequences for the resilience of the cities and communities we all inhabit. Research on urban resilience shows that poor coordination between urban planners, political elites, and us, the citizens, along with financial and technical limitations, hinders the implementation of effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. Without a robust urban plan that considers land use, adequate drainage, early warning systems, and our community involvement, we will continue to repeat the same mistakes. The occupation of naturally flood-prone areas, combined with inadequate drainage systems and a lack of resilient infrastructure, makes flooding not only a climate problem but also a matter of social vulnerability and political failure that affects us all.

The history of floods in Mozambique is, in fact, a story of "planning by omission." While risks accumulated, policymakers scattered their attention among multiple immediate priorities. And we continue to pay the price. When the floods arrive, the official discourse focuses on extreme weather conditions as the primary cause, diverting attention from institutional responsibility and the lack of structured plans. It has been difficult to hear, in official speeches, an honest acknowledgment that many of the severe floods could have been mitigated—or at least had their impacts drastically reduced—if land occupation policies, drainage infrastructure, and warning systems had been consistently implemented and monitored.

The result of this deficient planning is an exorbitant human and economic cost that we all feel. Floods not only displace people; they fracture entire communities, disrupt our education, exacerbate public health problems, and reinforce cycles of poverty. Millions of us can be affected with each intense rainy season, and hundreds of schools and health facilities are at risk of severe damage. Each rainy year becomes an additional test of our patience and resilience. But tests are not sustainable when solutions exist and are not implemented. Water is not the enemy; it is a resource that could boost our agriculture, strengthen local economies, and sustain our rural and urban communities. What is lacking, however, is an institutional vision that transforms this water into a strategic advantage, not a repeated excuse for systemic failures.

The stark truth is this: the floods that devastate parts of our country are not inevitable; they are the legacy of a government that has pushed solutions into the future that should have been implemented yesterday. It is urgent to face the fact that water can be wealth or ruin, depending on the planning and public responsibility that we, together, demand and apply today. Risk management plans cannot be archived documents. They must be living instruments, monitored and updated with our continuous involvement, rigorous technical oversight, and unwavering political commitment. Instead of waiting for the next flood to expose the same mistakes, we need to build with quality, strategy, transparency, and the courage to face difficult choices.

Heavy rains will continue to fall, and that's science. The question we must ask ourselves is clear: will we continue to react to floods with improvisation and excuses, or will we undertake serious planning, responsible use of scientific data, territorial occupation policies, and investments that reflect a real commitment to people's lives? The answer lies in every plan we develop, in every infrastructure we build, and in every collective decision we choose to make responsibly, instead of negligently.

2025/12/3