After the floods, hunger: Mozambique’s second disaster

Xai-Xai, Mozambique – Months after floodwaters tore through his neighbourhood, Joacim Pinto still walks past the empty plots where his crops once grew.The ground that once gave his family food and income now stands as a reminder of what was lost. His livestock disappeared, and the gardens that provided food and security were swallowed by the floods.But for Pinto, 50, the disaster did not end when the water receded.For the resident of Xa-Xai, in Mozambique’s southern Gaza province, surviving the floods was only the beginning of the struggle.“We either die from the floods, or if we survive, hunger takes over,” Pinto tells Al Jazeera.The floods swept across Mozambique from late December 2025 into early 2026, leaving communities like Pinto’s facing a second crisis: finding enough money to buy food after losing the ability to produce much of it themselves.“The floods destroyed our wells, pipes, livestock and gardens,” Pinto says. “The price of basic food increased sharply.”Lost harvestsMozambique is still recovering from one of its most damaging flood seasons in recent years. The disaster affected communities across several central and southern provinces, including Gaza, Maputo, Inhamba...