Water Proofing African Cities

The City of Beira has articulated its high ambitions in the Masterplan Beira 2035. The city is one of the economic centres of Mozambique and sees ample opportunities for further development in port operations and tourism. Beira is also increasingly vulnerable to natural hazards such as cyclones and heavy rainfall. On a yearly basis, the lower parts of the city are flooded by heavy rains. Just now the people of the City of Beira were hit very hard by Cyclone Idai, causing major wind damage and flooding by heavy rainfall devastating the city and its inhabitants. In the future, the vulnerability of Beira will be compounded by climate change. Supported by international organizations, most notably The World Bank, the local and national governmental organizations have managed to assess and implement several measures to reduce the impact of natural hazards. But far more investments are however required to decrease Beira’s vulnerability.