SADC Sends Emergency Team to Mozambique and South Africa After Floods
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has deployed its Emergency Response Team (ERT) to support disaster response efforts in Mozambique and South Africa following severe floods and extreme weather conditions that have caused loss of life, damaged infrastructure and disrupted essential services.
The deployment forms part of SADC’s regional disaster response mechanisms and is intended to complement Government-led interventions in Member States most affected by the disasters. The ERT will be deployed in both countries from 23 to 31 January 2026.
During the mission, the team will support national authorities in emergency response and early recovery operations, monitor the evolving situation on the ground and assist in consolidating a regional humanitarian appeal based on updated impact assessments.
Prolonged and intense rainfall across the region has resulted in river overflows, dam spillages, flash floods and widespread flooding of low-lying areas. Several Member States, including Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, have been affected, with Mozambique and South Africa recording the most severe impacts and requiring humanitarian assistance.
SADC said that as of October 2025, more than one million people across the region had been affected by flooding, with communities displaced and lives lost, highlighting the urgent need for a coordinated regional response.
In Mozambique, flooding has affected central and southern regions, including Gaza, Maputo, Sofala, Inhambane and Manica provinces. The Government of Mozambique declared a Red Alert on 16 January 2026 and appealed for humanitarian assistance. In South Africa, the Government declared a State of National Disaster on 18 January 2026 following severe flooding in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.
The SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (SHOC) is coordinating the regional response in collaboration with national disaster management authorities, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) mechanism and other partners.
SADC said the Emergency Response Team will help establish a clear picture of the humanitarian situation, response capacities and priority needs in the affected countries, and advise on how the regional body can provide targeted and effective support.
The intervention aims to ensure a timely, coordinated and effective humanitarian response to the flood impacts affecting communities in Mozambique and South Africa.
