The 2015 Southeast Africa floods, partially related to Cyclone Bansi and Tropical Storm Chedza, killed at least 176 people in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

, 86 in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, and at least 46 in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

over the course of a week while leaving hundreds more missing. Vice President of Malawi

Saulos Chilima Saulos Klaus Chilima (born 12 February 1973) is a Malawian economist and politician who is the incumbent vice president of the Republic of Malawi. Chilima assumed office on 28 June 2020, winning the majority alongside presidential candidate L ...

stated that over 200,000

Malawian This article is about the demographic features of the population of Malawi, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Malawi de ...

people have been displaced by the flood. About 400,000 African people have been displaced in total, and 153 were declared missing. Flooding began on January 14, 2015, subsiding at the end of the month. Due to the flooding, the soil in some areas became over saturated and caused

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s, leading to more deaths. The rainfall of Southeast Africa was recorded as being 150% higher than normal, flooding roughly 63,000

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s in total. Through years of research, Africa is said to have shown
complex pattern of rainfall
causing droughts and floods in the same season. Much of the damage from the 2014-2015 rain season can be attributed to the effects of

El Niño El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...

Effects by country

Malawi

Two weeks of heavy rainfall killed 176 people and caused US$450 million in damage, or roughly 10% of the country's

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is often ...

References

2015 floods 2015 in Malawi Floods in Malawi 2015 in Mozambique 2015 in Madagascar Floods in Mozambique Floods in Madagascar 2015 in Zimbabwe Floods in Zimbabwe 2015 in Africa Floods in Africa January 2015 events in Africa {{flood-stub