Early flood warning systems to stop Mozambique floods

The Limpopo River basin is shared between Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The need for an early flood-warning system was identified as an effective way to reduce flood damage in the basin.

As part of the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF), Genesis was appointed to assess the costs and benefits of an early warning flood forecasting system (EWFFS) in the basin.

A pilot version was developed as part of phase 1a of the project. It allows users to identify flood risks with near real-time data that will increase warning times by weeks and will enable all downstream communities to take effective action before flooding occurs.

By engaging the main water users in the basin in Mozambique, Genesis drafted a detailed business case on how costs could be reduced by having an early warning system for communities in the way of floods.