Flooding in Mozambique displaces tens of thousands

Mozambique flooding has left tens of thousands displaced and over a dozen people dead.

Authorities have ordered the evacuation of the country's south where 55,000 people are said to be in danger from rising water levels, reported AFP.

It is estimated that around 70,000 people have already been displaced by torrential rain and rising water.

Thirty five people have died from flooding since the start of the rainy season in October.

Mozambique has seen the heaviest rainfall since 2000 when 800 people were killed during summer months.

Reuters reported that the southern African nation has had up to 20 inches of rain in 12 days.

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Many people in the southern and central provinces of the country have been left homeless and sleeping by the roadside.

AAP warned that the flooding has caused a food crisis as crops and farmland have been inundated.

The flooding has also cut energy exports to South Africa in half, further stressing the impoverished country's economy.

Mozambique's coast has nine river basins which has made it particularly vulnerable to flooding and natural disasters, noted AFP.

Though the rain has largely stopped around the country, flooding continues to threaten areas near rivers and the coast.