BEIRA, Mozambique, March 26, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Survivors of a cyclone that
pummelled southern Africa began receiving medicine, food and tents Tuesday as
floodwaters receded, while officials warned up to 500,000 people are
displaced in the storm-struck region.
Cyclone Idai smashed into Mozambique’s coast, unleashing hurricane-force
wind and rain that flooded swathes of the poor country before battering
eastern Zimbabwe — killing more than 700 people across the two countries
according to estimates.
An area of roughly 3,125 square kilometres is still under water and three
million people across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi have been affected by
the cyclone and its aftermath, according to the UN World Food Programme
(WFP).
“Close to 500,000 have been displaced in the three countries,” the WFP said
in a briefing note.
The head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC) Elhadj As Sy warned Monday “we are sitting on a ticking
bomb” as he called for renewed efforts to address the worsening health
situation.
As logistical conditions improved and roads to affected communities were
being reconnected, the full scale of the humanitarian crisis was revealed for
the first time since disaster hit on March 15.
Hundreds are still missing in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
“The conditions for rescue are improving. Yesterday a road reopened which
was really important to allow officials to work and rescue,” Mozambique’s
Land Minister Celso Correa told reporters on Monday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Sebastian
Rhodes Stampa also said Monday that 30 aid missions were flying in while
others were going by road “so we can really deliver volume”.
“We are packing food and shelter now — they will go out (Tuesday) both
north and south,” he said.
In New York, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock launched an appeal to provide
Mozambique with $282 million to help with relief efforts over the next three
months.
Lowcock told reporters that similar campaigns would be instigated in the
coming days for Zimbabwe and Malawi.
– ‘Raising the alarm’ –
Buzi, one of Mozambique’s worst-hit towns located 30 kilometres (19 miles)
southwest of the city of Beira, became reachable by road on Monday — for the
first time since the storm hit. “It will now be much faster to deliver aid,”
Stampa added.
In Buzi, survivor Joao Zacaria said that “one man who had 40 cows lost them
all. Forty, can you imagine!”
IFRC head Sy, who had just returned from the region, warned of a “high risk
of water-borne diseases” like cholera and typhus — as well as malaria, which
is endemic in the region.
The WHO has announced it is mobilising 900,000 doses of cholera vaccines
from the global stockpile to help prevent an epidemic.
A procession of mourners carried the coffin containing the body of Tomas
Joaquim Chimukme, who was killed by the cyclone, through saturated marshland
outside Beira. Many of those attending wore open sandals in the water which
was ankle-high.
The UN has warned that stagnant water in many areas, decomposing bodies and
the lack of sanitation in overcrowded shelters in Mozambique could create
breeding grounds for diseases.
The government has already identified some suspected but unconfirmed cases
of cholera, Sy said.
“That is the reason why I am raising the alarm. Many of these water-borne
diseases are a great risk, but they are preventable,” he added.
“The worst thing is the children crying and looking for their parents… It
is heartbreaking,” he said, adding that it remained unclear how many children
may have been orphaned.
Medical services in the affected region were stretched even before the
cyclone hit and according to aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Beira
hospital’s operating theatre sustained serious damage. As many as 17 health
centres have lost their roofs, it added in a statement.
The South African military has deployed several aircraft to the affected
area and an EU-funded WFP chopper is supporting rescue and recovery efforts.