The powerful cyclone Idai has caused devastating floods affecting hundreds of thousands of people in southern Africa, especially Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. As per the United Nations (UN), the disaster has affected more than 2.6 million people.
The cyclone made landfall near the port city of Beira in Sofala province on Thursday with winds swirling at speed of up to 177 km/h (106 mph). Idai’s strength was found to be equivalent to a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific oceans. The storm was accompanied by heavy rains.
“This is the worst humanitarian crisis in Mozambique’s history,” said Jamie LeSueur, who is leading rescue efforts in Beira for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi has called the cyclone as a humanitarian disaster of great proportion, reported Reuters. He said over 1,000 people may have been killed after the cyclone hit the country last week. The government had declared a national emergency as well as three days of national mourning starting on Friday.
According to the officials in Zimbabwe, at least 98 people were killed and around 200 others were reported missing in the eastern part of the nation due to the cyclone as of Tuesday. President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that the government has been conducting search and rescue missions and distributing food to the affected people. Malawi’s government has confirmed 56 deaths so far.
Notably, official death tolls stand in the hundreds but the actual numbers may not be known for months.
“The scale of suffering and loss is still not clear, and we expect that the number of people affected as well as the number of people who have lost their lives may rise,” Jamie added.
The Red Cross has warned the contamination of water supply and disruption of usual water treatment may lead to an outbreak of waterborne diseases, including cholera, in the areas affected by cyclone Idai.
Several nations have come forward to provide emergency aid to Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The United Kingdom has pledged up to £6 million in aid and the European Union has announced an aid package of €3.5 million.
