Over 1,000 feared dead in Mozambique storm

November 22, 2024

World - Business

Over 1,000 feared dead in Mozambique storm

March 20, 2019

MOZAMBIQUE: More than a thousand people are feared to have died in a cyclone that smashed into Mozambique last week, while scores were killed and more than 200 are missing in neighbouring Zimbabwe.The city of Beira in central Mozambique bore Cyclone Idai's full wrath on Thursday before the storm barrelled on to neighbouring Zimbabwe, unleashing fierce winds and flash floods and washing away roads and houses.

“For the moment we have registered 84 deaths officially, but when we flew over the area... this morning to understand what's going on, everything indicates that we could register more than 1,000 deaths,” Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said in a nationwide address.

“This is a real humanitarian disaster,” he said. “More than 100,000 people are in danger”.Survivors have taken refuge in trees while awaiting help, the president added. Ninety percent of the city of some 530,000 people and its surrounding area has been “damaged or destroyed,” it said in a statement.- AFP