Cyclone batters Zimbabwe
Many dead in Mozambique and Malawi
AT LEAST 31 people have died in eastern Zimbabwe while dozens were missing as homes and bridges were swept away by a tropical storm, state television reported on yesterday.
Cyclone Idai, which brought floodwater and destruction to Mozambique and Malawi, hit Zimbabwe on Friday, cutting off power and communications.
Pictures shared on Twitter and television footage showed roads, houses and bridges that were washed away while communication towers were knocked down and electricity cables blocked roads in Chimanimani district, 410km east of the capital Harare.
State television ZBC said 31 people had died in the district while more than 70 people were missing.
The information ministry said the army had moved in to rescue 197 pupils trapped at a local school.
Joshua Sacco, a member of parliament in Chimanimani earlier told Reuters the district had been hit by Cyclone Eline in February 2000.
He said the death toll was expected to rise as rescue efforts continued.
Chimanimani, which borders Mozambique, has been worst affected, Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Information said. Air force helicopters were rescuing people, but flights were being slowed by heavy winds. The rain is expected to continue throughout the weekend.
Meanwhile in Mozambique, power was out in Sofala province on Friday after the category 4 tropical cyclone made landfall.
President Filipe Nyusi said in a televised address that damage caused by the cyclone was “very worrisome”, and electricity and telecommunications infrastructure as well as roads, hospitals and schools had been affected.
Mussa Mustafa, from the National Institute of Disaster Management, confirmed that Sofala province, which includes the port city of Beira, was the worst affected area.
“The full extent of the damage caused by Cyclone Idai’s landfall is not yet known,” said the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Heavy rain and flooding as the cyclone neared had caused more than 122 deaths in Mozambique and Malawi before it made landfall.
“Cyclone Idai has now hit a population which was already in despair and extremely vulnerable,” Unicef’s representative in Mozambique said. “The impact of the storm is multiplying their suffering.”
An estimated 600 000 people have been affected, of which 260 000 are children, and thousands have been displaced, because their houses have been destroyed, the agency added.
The South African Defence Force (SANDF) said yesterday it was assisting the humanitarian efforts in Malawi and Mozambique.
The SANDF sent aircraft and personnel to help with search and rescue efforts. A team of 10 military medics were sent to Malawi yesterday. |