Rescuers struggle to reach Mozambique cyclone victims
Thousands of people in remote parts of Mozambique were left homeless at the weekend and are bracing themselves for flooding and food shortages as Cyclone Kenneth flattened villages.
Kenneth, which has killed five people, struck northern Mozambique late on Thursday, barely a month after the country was hit by one of the worst storms in its history.
“Too many small communities are completely destroyed – not a single house is standing any more. I could see around 10 communities in this situation,” said Saviano Abreu, a spokesman for the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“On Ibo [island], not only the main village but also other communities are destroyed. This will be a very complex humanitarian operation.
“I would say shelter is a huge priority, as rains are forecast in the coming days and water and food will be urgently needed.”
In the village of Nacate, south of Macomia in cyclone-ravaged Cabo Delgado province, many homes were destroyed.
Maria Mendosa, Assan Madal and their five young children managed to salvage a few chairs, a table, a mattress and cooking pots from their home.
The UN’s children’s agency, Unicef, said that about 368,000 children were “at risk and potentially in need of life-saving humanitarian support” after the second storm.
Speaking in Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado, Prime Minister Carlos do Rosario said that the death toll stood at five. The first reported fatality was caused by a falling coconut tree.
The Category 3 storm struck Mozambique after reaching Comoros.
“Tropical Cyclone Kenneth has now ‘stalled’ over Cabo Delgado ... where it is expected to bring heavy rains in the coming days,” Ocha said. “The stalling of the weather system is likely to cause significant flooding in Cabo Delgado, as well as high rainfall in southern Tanzania, over the next 10 days.”
In the coastal Macomia district, by Saturday evening people were attempting repairs.
Mozambique’s emergencies agency, INGC, reported severe flooding, mudslides and widespread power failures. It said Kenneth had damaged or destroyed 3,300 homes and that about 18,000 people were housed in temporary shelters.
On Saturday morning, emergency workers including Brazilian soldiers, Ocha personnel and Unicef officials arrived in Pemba. Capt Kleber Castro of the Brazil rescue service said aircraft were needed to survey affected cities, some of which had suffered up to 90 per cent damage. “A lot of people can be impacted in the region where the flooding is large and widespread,” he said.
On Ibo, home to 6,000 people, 90 per cent of homes had been flattened, said Antonio Beleza, a spokesman for INGC.
“It looks like the island has been bombed,” said Kevin Record, a South African tour operator who owns a hotel on Ibo.
Communities in central Mozambique are still reeling from Cyclone Idai, which hit on the night of March 14 into 15, causing floods that swept away homes, roads and bridges.
The storm also hit Zimbabwe and Malawi. More than 1,000 lives were lost in the three countries, with damage estimated at about $2 billion (Dh7.34bn).