The heavy flooding of early 2015 caused more than 1,500 families in the district of Mocuba to flee their homes for safer grounds. As opposed to other areas within the province of Zambezia, the prospect of returning to their former land is not viable for the vast majority of families from Mocuba as the area along the Licungo River is now unrecognizable and largely unsuitable to rebuild.
After originally receiving accommodation in transit zones / temporary accommodation centers, most families were transferred to more permanent relocation sites. The National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) along with the local government established seven official relocation communities within the district, largely on the outskirts of the city of Mocuba. Currently these seven communities house a total of 1,314 families and 6,001 individuals. The population in the relocation communities has remained steady over the past months, falling slightly in all locations. The population throughout the communities in Mocuba is relatively young as 60% of all IDPs are below the age of 18.
Improvements in the organization and structure of the communities have been observed through newly cleared roads as well as the signs of the first permanent construction. For the time being, more than 75% of families live in structures comprised of tents/tarpaulins in five of the locations within the district. However, the building of durable homes has begun in four of the seven communities within the district of Mocuba. Another positive sign of both stability and positive sanitation practices was observed through the construction of private latrines—the majority of families in five sites reported constructing private latrines.
Concerns exist particularly in regards to livelihoods as sufficient farm land is not available and families indicate that former occupations are not viable in their current living situation. Displaced families in five of the seven sites reported no daily occupation. This has led to a heavy reliance on food distributions, demonstrated by families in all seven sites stating that their main source of food is through distributions. An additional concern exists in the case of the relocation community of Laze, which represents the lone site that depends on a superficial water source for consumption.
Residents of Laze displayed worry that the water is not suitable to use for drinking and cooking and also fear that the source could dry up.