Since early April 2026, Benguela Province has experienced exceptionally heavy and prolonged rainfall, causing severe flooding in urban and peri-urban areas of Benguela and Lobito municipalities. The overflow of river systems, including the Cavaco River basin, led to rapid inundation of low-lying neighbourhoods and informal settlements.
As a result, hundreds of houses were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, forcing families to flee abruptly, often without essential household items.
Rapid assessments conducted by CICA, ACT Angola Forum members, and local authorities estimate that over 1,500 people were displaced, many of whom are currently living in temporary displacement camps and collective shelters, including Campismo Novo, Campismo Antigo, and the Ombaka Stadium area.
The most critical impacts relate to lack of access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, which exposes displaced households to high risks of waterborne diseases, including diarrhoea and cholera. Reliance on untreated water supplied through cisterns, combined with extremely limited sanitation facilities and widespread open defecation, has created unsafe living environments that threaten health, dignity, and well-being.
Displacement has also generated significant protection and psychosocial impacts.
The Council of churches of Angola proposes to provide a rapid, focused, and complementary humanitarian response to the flooding crisis in Benguela Province, targeting displaced households living in temporary camps and collective shelters targeting over 2,540 persons. The intervention prioritises Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) assistance, combined with basic protection and psychosocial support (PSS), to address the most urgent and life‑saving needs identified through recent assessments.
