How Cyclone Idai Tore Into Mozambique, Zimbabwe & Malawi
22 MAR, 2019 - 00:03
BEIRA/MUTARE/LILONGWE. – Hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands more have been affected by what the UN says could be “one of the worst weather-related disasters ever to hit the southern hemisphere”.
Here’s what we (the BBC) know so far about the impact of the cyclone.
The storm made landfall near the port city of Beira in Mozambique’s Sofala province on March 14, packing winds of up to 177 km/h and bringing torrential rain.
Floods of up to six metres deep have caused “incredible devastation” over a huge area in Mozambique, the World Food Programme (WFP) has said, with homes, roads and bridges washed away.
The current flood zone is estimated to cover 3,000 sq km. Aid staff who flew over the area have spoken of “inland oceans extending for miles and miles”.
Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Madagascar all suffered high levels of rainfall. The worst of the flooding has been in Mozambique, with rivers flowing downstream from neighbouring countries. The area close to the River Buzi west of Beira has been particularly hard-hit.
Aid groups are now struggling to reach survivors trapped in remote areas where villages were submerged.
Thousands were “stranded on rooftops, in trees and other elevated areas”, said Unicef spokesperson Christophe Boulierac.
It is feared the situation could get worse in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe, with heavy rain set to continue.
The storm first struck Beira – Mozambique’s fourth-largest city and a port that sits on the mouth of the River Pungwe.
Its geography, with parts of it lying below sea level, makes it vulnerable to extreme weather.
The city bore the brunt of the storm, which caused flooding, knocked down buildings and engulfed roads. A large dam also burst, cutting off the last road into the city. The hospital has also been damaged.
Beira airport, which was partially damaged by the storm and temporarily shut, has reopened and is operating as the relief operations hub.
Air force personnel from Mozambique and South Africa have also been drafted in to fly rescue missions and distribute aid while roads are out of action.
Aid workers in the area say they have only two to three days of clean water left. Idai was one of the worst tropical cyclones ever to hit Africa and the southern hemisphere.
It formed off the eastern coast of Mozambique in early March and hit the country’s coast a first time before heading back out into the Mozambique Channel.
It intensified, weakened and intensified again before hitting the Mozambique coast for a second time on 14 March.
Winds reached up to 177 km/h and heavy rainfall caused disastrous flooding across a number of countries.
Vast swathes of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe have been affected.
In Mozambique, the country hardest hit, an estimated 600,000 people have been affected, according to the UN.
However, the WFP believes 1.7 million people in the country will eventually need help as a result of the disaster.
Poorer areas, made up of makeshift homes, in Beira and elsewhere have been particularly badly hit.
In Zimbabwe, 200,000 people have been affected, with most of the damage occurring near the Mozambique border.
The situation in the eastern district of Chimanimani “is very bad”, WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel said.
“Some 90 percent of the district has been significantly damaged,” he added.
In Malawi, the UN says more than 80,000 people have been displaced.
– BBC
BEIRA/MUTARE/LILONGWE. – Hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands more have been affected by what the UN says could be “one of the worst weather-related disasters ever to hit the southern hemisphere”.
Here’s what we (the BBC) know so far about the impact of the cyclone.
The storm made landfall near the port city of Beira in Mozambique’s Sofala province on March 14, packing winds of up to 177 km/h and bringing torrential rain.
Floods of up to six metres deep have caused “incredible devastation” over a huge area in Mozambique, the World Food Programme (WFP) has said, with homes, roads and bridges washed away.
The current flood zone is estimated to cover 3,000 sq km. Aid staff who flew over the area have spoken of “inland oceans extending for miles and miles”.
Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Madagascar all suffered high levels of rainfall. The worst of the flooding has been in Mozambique, with rivers flowing downstream from neighbouring countries. The area close to the River Buzi west of Beira has been particularly hard-hit.
Aid groups are now struggling to reach survivors trapped in remote areas where villages were submerged.
Thousands were “stranded on rooftops, in trees and other elevated areas”, said Unicef spokesperson Christophe Boulierac.
It is feared the situation could get worse in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe, with heavy rain set to continue.
The storm first struck Beira – Mozambique’s fourth-largest city and a port that sits on the mouth of the River Pungwe.
Its geography, with parts of it lying below sea level, makes it vulnerable to extreme weather.
The city bore the brunt of the storm, which caused flooding, knocked down buildings and engulfed roads. A large dam also burst, cutting off the last road into the city. The hospital has also been damaged.
Beira airport, which was partially damaged by the storm and temporarily shut, has reopened and is operating as the relief operations hub.
Air force personnel from Mozambique and South Africa have also been drafted in to fly rescue missions and distribute aid while roads are out of action.
Aid workers in the area say they have only two to three days of clean water left. Idai was one of the worst tropical cyclones ever to hit Africa and the southern hemisphere.
It formed off the eastern coast of Mozambique in early March and hit the country’s coast a first time before heading back out into the Mozambique Channel.
It intensified, weakened and intensified again before hitting the Mozambique coast for a second time on 14 March.
Winds reached up to 177 km/h and heavy rainfall caused disastrous flooding across a number of countries.
Vast swathes of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe have been affected.
In Mozambique, the country hardest hit, an estimated 600,000 people have been affected, according to the UN.
However, the WFP believes 1.7 million people in the country will eventually need help as a result of the disaster.
Poorer areas, made up of makeshift homes, in Beira and elsewhere have been particularly badly hit.
In Zimbabwe, 200,000 people have been affected, with most of the damage occurring near the Mozambique border.
The situation in the eastern district of Chimanimani “is very bad”, WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel said.
“Some 90 percent of the district has been significantly damaged,” he added.
In Malawi, the UN says more than 80,000 people have been displaced.
– BBC
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