Djuba, Mozambique, Jan. 14, 2026 (Lusa) - Hundreds of residents of the Mozambican village of Djuba, 40 kilometres south of the capital, Maputo, are isolated due to the rising waters of the Umbeluzi River caused by heavy rains. They are being supported by Navy boats to get to work or buy food.
"We are tired," Luís Castigo, 27, tells Lusa before climbing into the boat that will take him and half a dozen neighbours back to Djuba, a village in the Boane region of Maputo province.
Almost 50 metres away, the bridge connecting the village to National Road 2 is completely impassable. It is no longer even visible, such is the volume of water that has been flowing over it since Monday. Two fire brigade tapes on each bank signal the obvious: No crossing.
The only solution is to cross the Umbeluzi River by boat, namely two Navy boats, two boats from the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD) and another from the Maritime Transport Institute (Itransmar), in a shuttle service that runs almost non-stop from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., providing free transport.
In recent days, the Mozambican authorities have been issuing red warnings for heavy rain and thunderstorms, which are causing flooding, especially in the centre and south, with several river basins at risk, particularly in Maputo, including Boane. This is the heaviest rainfall in several years, which in turn is forcing the opening of dams, including in neighbouring countries.
"When it rains, it's like this. We don't know if this water is from the rain or if they opened the dams," says Luís Castigo, who works in metalwork and is trying to get home early.
According to official data collected by Lusa on the ground, between 1,600 and 1,800 people are transported to and from Djuba, between the banks of the Umbeluzi River, in boats provided by the state. The crossing takes a few minutes, and all passengers are required to wear life jackets.
The problem is that those who arrive from work at the end of the day only find small rowing boats belonging to neighbours, who now seek to make money from these passengers, albeit in poor conditions.
"When you arrive early, it's 10 meticais [€0.13 cents], but after hours, at 7 or 8 pm, it can be 50 meticais [€0.67 cents]. And you're worried about getting home," explains Luís.
The boats provided by the state, with support from the police, fire brigade and local authority of Boane, are a help, but more importantly, the problem needs to be solved, complains the young man, recalling that whenever it rains more than usual, those who live in Djuba are left with no solution.
"We don't have the means, we don't have the money," he says, already wearing a life jacket, seeing his house in the distance, while the rain falls with increasing intensity.
The boats come and go, and Maria waited a few minutes for the next one to take her home, on the other side. "It's very difficult," she says, wearing wellies, before putting a plastic bag over her head for protection.
She managed to reach the shore with the Navy boats in operation. If she had come later, she would have had to pay for one of the private boats, in the dark and in the face of the river's growing force: " If you arrive late, you have to pay for those boats."
Gisela Mazangue, a student, left home to go shopping in the late morning. When she reached the shore, soaked and after a few minutes by boat from the village of Djuba, she lamented: "It's not easy."
She managed to catch the authorities' boat, but she is afraid she will not reach the same place to return to the village after 5 pm.
"We have to take a boat and pay money when the local authority ones are not available," she noted, also complaining about delays in the departure of these emergency transport services."
"It's difficult to get home," she says.
In Maputo, both the province and the city, the number of roads flooded by rain and rising waters has multiplied in recent days, with the authorities describing this period as one of the rainiest in recent years.
Across the country, since the beginning of the rainy season in October, according to the Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction, INGD, at least 94 people have died due to heavy rains, a situation that has worsened since the end of December.
PVJ/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
