The United Nations says additional funding is urgently needed to sustain the humanitarian response in Mozambique, where the death toll from severe flooding has risen to more than 145.

The floods have affected more than 510,000 people across central and southern provinces.

The Mozambican government has formally requested United Nations support for search and rescue operations, preventative evacuations, damage assessments and the provision of temporary shelters for flood victims.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says significant damage to health facilities and roads has been reported, along with disruptions to supply chains.

Nearly 5, 000 kilometres of roads have been damaged across nine provinces, with the main highway connecting the capital, Maputo, to the rest of the country remaining inaccessible.

Providing an update on the situation, the Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said that evacuations are continuing and that 50 temporary accommodation centres nationwide are hosting more than 50,000 people.

Farhan Haq said, "We and our partners are scaling up lifesaving assistance, focussing on easing overcrowding in accommodation centres, particularly in Gaza Province, as assessments continue in hard-to-reach areas."

Mozambique is among several southern African countries currently experiencing severe flooding, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini, where OCHA is also engaged.