Idai rips up Mozambique

JOHANNESBURG: As much as 90% of Mozambique’s central port city of Beira has been damaged or destroyed by tropical Cyclone Idai, according to the Red Cross.

Beira has been severely battered by the cyclone which cut off electricity, forced the airport to shut down and closed road access to the city of 500,000, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.

Cyclone Idai first hit Beira last week and then moved inland, spreading high winds and heavy rainfall in Zimbabwe and Malawi. More than 215 people have been killed by the storm, hundreds more are missing and more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the widespread destruction and flooding, according to the Red Cross and government officials.

The scale of the damage to Beira was ‘‘massive and horrifying,’’ Jamie LeSueur, who led a Red Cross aerial assessment of the city, said. The team had to view the city by helicopter because roads were flooded.

‘‘The situation is terrible. The scale of devastation is enormous. It seems that 90% of the area is completely destroyed,’’ LeSueur said.

‘‘Almost everything is destroyed. Communication lines have been completely cut and roads have been destroyed. Some affected communities are not accessible,’’ LeSueur said.

‘‘Beira has been severely battered. But we are also hearing that the situation outside the city could be even worse.[On Sunday] a large dam burst and cut off the last road to the city.’’

United Nations agencies and the Red Cross are helping with rescue efforts, delivering food supplies and medicines by helicopter in the impoverished countries. —

PHOTOS: AP Flooded and razed . . . An aerial view of the destruction.

Facing devastation . . . A citizen walks through a flooded street in the city of Beira, in Sofala province, Mozambique, after Cyclone Idai made landfall.