Impacto económico y financiero del ciclón Freddy en la segunda fase

Resumen

Mozambique is cyclically affected by tropical cyclones that form in the southeastern Indian Ocean basin. Tropical cyclones occur during the cyclonic season, which runs from November to April. This study combined bibliographic review and scientific methods. The data used were acquired from the National Emergency Operations Center of the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and from the National Directorate of Water Resources Management, National Remote Sensing Center, which consisted of collecting vector data from provinces and districts. With this information, an assessment of the financial and economic impact of Tropical Cyclone Freddy was made, revealing that the provinces of Zambézia, Sofala, Tete, Niassa, and Manica were affected. Partial destruction of 68,603 houses and total destruction of 130,413 houses were recorded. 54,382 health units were flooded and 98 destroyed, as well as 508 places of worship. Zambézia province was the most affected of all, leading to recommendations for the government to strengthen structural and non-structural measures to address extreme weather events, build context-adapted and resilient infrastructure, and increase the State Budget and other economic and financial investments to proactively mobilize society in reducing the risk of extreme weather events and preventing them, thus reducing socio-economic instability. This includes the need to build infrastructure resilient to severe storms, given that the same cyclone had previously devastated infrastructure such as schools, health facilities, roads, and caused agricultural losses across more than 38,000 hectares. Similarly, the disruption of company facilities, such as those of the Ports and Railways of Mozambique (CFM), Electricity of Mozambique (EDM), and other public and private companies, negatively impacted the lives of the population, particularly in the process of family and community diet, reduced family savings, isolation of animal species, housing fragmentation, difficulties in health and education services, which posed risks to food security, income, and life, among other human risks. Given that citizens witnessed moments of family insecurity and unbalanced pressure on budget execution by district, provincial, and central executives, as well as on external financial support, due to the fragility of the economic and financial sustainability of long-term projects. Facts and evidence similar to those experienced during the second phase of Cyclone Freddy make it imperative to implement proactive public policies regarding coastal protection and the continental part of Mozambican territory, since the Republic of Mozambique is downstream from the Indian Ocean and consequently is at risk of intense rainfall, flooding, soil erosion, and cyclones. This is despite possessing economic, natural, and climatic advantages and strategies resulting from its geographical location