• Mozambique launched "Big Data in Telecommunications" platform to send geo-located SMS and voice alerts during natural disasters.
• System enables coordinated emergency communication between INCM, INGD, CENOE, INAM, and mobile operators with national coverage.
• Platform targets vulnerable populations as the country faced three cyclones in 2024-2025.

Mozambique has launched a telecommunications platform designed to alert populations during natural disasters and emergency situations. The "Big Data in Telecommunications" solution, launched October 27, enables the sending of geo-located alert messages via SMS and IVR (Interactive Voice Response) voice calls to inform and guide populations in real time during emergencies. The platform aims to mitigate the impact of extreme events and protect human lives by making communication an effective instrument for alerting, preventing, and responding to disasters.

"The Big Data in Telecommunications project represents a historic breakthrough for the communications sector in Mozambique," said Helena Fernandes, Chairman of the Board of Directors of INCM. "It is proof that technology, when placed at the service of the common good, can be a powerful instrument of protection, inclusion and solidarity. Every message sent by this system can mean a protected life, a warned community and a mitigated risk."

The system will be implemented through coordination among multiple entities, including the Communications Regulatory Authority (INCM), National Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (INGD), National Emergency Operational Center (CENOE), National Institute of Meteorology (INAM), Ministries of Health, National Defense and Interior, Regional Water Administrations, and mobile phone operators.

Each institution has mechanisms and capacities to send messages in a massive, fast, and interoperable manner between networks, ensuring national coverage and strengthening response capacity for human rescue in emergency situations. The platform's technical capabilities enable message and alert calls to be issued in local languages, ensuring greater population coverage.

The inclusion of local language support addresses a critical barrier in emergency communication. In multilingual societies like Mozambique, alerts issued only in official languages may fail to reach significant portions of vulnerable populations, particularly in rural areas where indigenous languages dominate daily communication.

Messages will be sent based on the location of communities at risk, avoiding unnecessary notifications to people outside danger zones.To receive notifications, citizens must have an active phone and SIM card and be located in the area affected by the calamity. As communications expand to regions currently without coverage, the system will be integrated to ensure nationwide coverage and greater responsiveness.

The initiative responds to devastating recent events. Between December 2024 and March 2025, three consecutive tropical cyclones struck Mozambique. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s February 2025 report, Cyclone Chido in December 2024 affected an estimated 455,513 people (90,640 households) with 120 fatalities and 868 injuries, destroying or partially damaging 104,539 houses across Cabo Delgado, Nampula, and Niassa provinces.

Just weeks later in January 2025, Cyclone Dikeledi impacted 283,334 individuals (80,780 households), damaging or destroying 80,865 houses including 36,853 completely destroyed, along with 48 health facilities and 221 schools. Tropical Cyclone Jude in March 2025 affected another 483,340 people with 16 deaths and 137 injuries, according to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The move demonstrates how mobile infrastructure can serve dual purposes—commercial services during normal operations and life-saving emergency communications during crises.

Hikmatu Bilali