Rapid flood risk assessment of informal urban settlements in Maputo, Mozambique: The case of Maxaquene A

Abstract Cities across the Global South are facing huge challenges associated with rapid urbanisation, lack of infrastructure services and climate change, including frequent storms and recurrent floods that inundate large areas of their urban landscape. Often, the worst affected groups are those living in low-income settlements located in floodplains of the city. Maxaquene A is an example of such a settlement in Maputo, Mozambique, a country with a strong history of storms and floods due to its geographical location. This paper describes a rapid flood risk assessment conducted by the authors, in Maxaquene A. The assessment obtained both community and external stakeholder perceptions of challenges in the neighbourhood, accompanied by a description of how floods have affected infrastructure such as drainage and sanitation, services such as pit emptying and solid waste collection, and localised infrastructure solutions developed by the community as a coping mechanism. The assessment highlighted the need for collaboration with community members to co-develop appropriate flood risk management strategies and infrastructure solutions. This work will pave the way for greater in-depth research with residents of Maxaquene A, neighbouring settlements in Maputo and other informal settlements in the Global South, to drive change in climate change adaptation across the built environment.