English: On January 23, 2021, Mozambique was struck by Tropical Cyclone Eloise. The storm came ashore near Beira, the capital and largest city of Sofala Province, in central Mozambique carrying maximum sustained winds of about 87 mph (140 km/h). This would place it as a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. While the wind caused damage, particularly near landfall, Eloise also carried extreme rains which has led to widespread severe flooding.

On January 24, Mozambique’s National Institute of Meteorology (INAM) reported that Beira received 250 mm (13.8 in) of rain in 24 hours. A situation report published on ReliefWeb on January 31 stated, “Preliminary reports from the Government’s disaster management agency – the Instituto Nacional de Gestão Redução do Risco de Desastres (INGD) – indicate over 300,000 people affected, including more than 20,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and over 33,600 persons evacuated, while more 26,000 houses have been destroyed, damaged or flooded. As announced by the INGD, these numbers could rise in the coming days ahead as the full extent of the damage becomes known.” At least six people have died and 12 were injured by the storm and flooding—numbers that are considered preliminary.

On January 28, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a false-color image of central Madagascar. This type of image uses a combination of infrared and visible light (MODIS bands 7,2,1) to accentuate contrast between water (dark inky blue) and vegetation (bright green).

The severely flooded river in the south is the Pungwe River. To the north, the Sangussi River also appears badly flooded. The city of Beira sits on the estuary where the Pungwe River pours into the Mozambique Channel. It can be seen as a cluster of gray pixels on the northern side of the estuary, surrounded on three sides by dark water.