"It may be that there are still some
situations of sporadic rescue, but they are no longer the number one
priority," the spokesman for the Efe agency told EFE. United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Saviano Abreu.
The relief teams now focus on bringing
food, medicine, drinking water, sanitation systems and various materials to
provide shelter to nearly 770,000 people so far directly affected by the
tragedy.
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| Affected by cyclone Idai receive food and supplies |
In Mozambique, the country most impacted by Idai since the cyclone touched down on March 14, the water level began to fall on Sunday (24) and for the first time it is possible to access regions that until then could only be reached by air.
"The level of humanitarian assistance
will increase from now on because we will have more capacity to reach the
people who need it," explained Abreu in Beira, one of the cities most
affected by the cyclone, which was 90% destroyed.
So far Idai has left 600 dead (446 in Mozambique and 154 in Zimbabwe), to which are added the 56 in Malawi, when the cyclone was still a tropical storm.
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| Water begins to recede after flooding caused by cyclone Idai in Mozambique |
According to data from the Mozambican
government, more than 3,100 schools, attended by 90,000 students, were
destroyed, more than 33,500 properties are completely or partially destroyed
and about 500,000 hectares of crops that were about to be harvested have been
ruined.
The tasks of national and international
organizations focus on the distribution of food and avoiding serious illnesses
that are triggered by standing water, such as cholera and malaria.
So far, according to OCHA, there is no
confirmed case of cholera, a treatable infection that causes countless deaths
from dehydration.
In neighboring Zimbabwe, where the cyclone
arrived on March 15, private and Air Force helicopters distribute food without
pause to the inhabitants of Chimanimani and Chipinge, the two eastern districts
most affected.
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| Women organizing food for distribution in Zimbabwe |
Evaluation missions estimate that 37% of
the population of Chipinge and 77% of that of Chimanimani urgently need food.
Lynne James, a volunteer who helps carry food and survival kits on helicopters
in Wengesi, a town 80 kilometers from Chimanimani, told Efe that the
Zimbabweans were being "incredibly generous" with the contributions.
"There are people bringing everything
they have. Seeing people bringing dishes and some bags of corn or whatever they
have is incredible," said the volunteer.
About 95% of Chimanimani roads and
surrounding areas were damaged or destroyed by the storm. Doctors Without
Borders explained that one of its teams had to walk 12 kilometers with medical
supplies on Saturday to reach remote communities of Chimanimani.
The UN has described the Idai disaster as
a Category 3 emergency, a category that is currently only attributed to
humanitarian emergencies in Syria and Yemen.
PREVIOUS FACTS
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2019 - NUMBER OF DEATHS AFTER CYCLONE PASSAGE IN AFRICA PASSA DE 700
United Nations (UN) warns of new floods;
severely hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
The death toll after Cyclone Idai in
Africa is over 700. Mozambique reported more deaths this Saturday (23). The
floods killed at least 732 people and left thousands desperate for help, many
on rooftops and trees.
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| Man carries children in flooded region of Mozambique |
Cyclone Idai attacked the port city of
Beira with winds of up to 170 km / h last week, then passed through the
mainland, Zimbabwe and Malawi, leaving populations flooded and ravaged homes.
The death toll in Mozambique has risen
from 242 to 417, said Minister of Land and Environment Celso Correia.
"The situation is improving, it's
still critical, but it's improving," he told reporters at Beira airport,
which has become a hub for aid operations.
The storm also killed 259 people in
Zimbabwe, while in Malawi 56 people died in heavy rains before the cyclone.
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| Infographic - Cyclone Idai hits Mozambique and affects two other countries in Africa |
In all three countries, survivors are
digging debris to search for victims and seeking shelter, food and water as
governments and relief agencies rush to help.
"All our food got wet, we did not
know where to go with the kids. We have nothing," said Mimi Manuel, a
mother of four who lost her home and was sitting on the floor of a makeshift
shelter at a primary school in Beira.
In the refuge, families cooked with wood
from trees torn by the storm, while children played around battered school
tables. Manuel wore a necklace with the word "Hope".
DESTROYED HOUSES
"When it all started, people started
screaming," said another survivor, Dina Fiegado, 18, describing how the
pieces of wood had burst and rough walls collapsed in the community of Praia
Nova, where residents said about 50 people were dead.
"Some people tried to escape, some
people tried to stay home," he said.
The Mozambican minister said that about 1,500
people needed immediate relief from roofs and trees. Helicopters and boats
transport people to safety.
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| Man waving near flooded house after Cyclone Idai crossing in Buzi district near Beira in Mozambique |
NEW RISK
The UN humanitarian office warned that
more flooding could occur when heavy rains flooded the interior of the Beira
area and nearby dams threatening to blow up the Buzi and Pungwe rivers again.
"We will have to wait until the
floodwaters recede to see the full extent of the damage done to the people of
Mozambique," said Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, coordinator of the Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Some cases of cholera have been reported.
Left without anything, many survivors were
worried about the future, while others lamented the losses.
At the Beira central morgue, Mika
Masseera, 56, mourned her severely weakened mother, Sumbo Mufucho, 73, who died
in the hospital after a rescue after clinging to a tree for two days surrounded
by flooding..
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019 - CYCLONE LEAVES MORE THAN 120 DEAD AND 1 MILLION AFFECTED IN MOZAMBIQUE AND MALAWI
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| Flood caused by cyclone reaches suburb of Beira, second largest city in Mozambique |
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| Survivors leave Ngangu carrying their belongings in suitcases after the passage of Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe |
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019 - CYCLONE LEAVES MORE THAN 120 DEAD AND 1 MILLION AFFECTED IN MOZAMBIQUE AND MALAWI
Tropical cyclone Idai should continue to
cause strong winds and rains in Mozambican provinces until Sunday. Powerful
winds and heavy rains could also punish eastern Zimbabwe and southern Malawi in
the coming days.
The impact of tropical cyclone Idai has
caused at least 122 deaths and left more than 1 million people affected in
Mozambique and Malawi since the beginning of March, the United Nations Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Thursday. The tea).
In Mozambique, the cyclone touched down on
Thursday, in the city of Beira (southwest), where some 700,000 people live,
around 11 pm (18 hours in Brasília).
But since the beginning of the month 66
people have died, 111 have been injured and 141,000 have already been affected
by floods caused by Idai in the country, according to Ocha. In neighboring
Malawi, 56 died, 577 were injured and 922,900 people were affected by the
damage caused by the cyclone.
According to the Ocha, forecasts indicate
that Idai will cause strong winds and rains in the Mozambican provinces of
Zambézia, Sofala, Manica and Inhambane from Thursday until Sunday.
According to the National Institute of
Meteorology of Mozambique, the forecasts were that the winds would be 200 to
220 km / h and the rains could reach 150 mm in 24 hours.
The Government of the province of Sofala
has ordered a compulsory curfew in the districts of Muanza, Cheringoma, Búzi,
Dondo and Beira, starting at 11 am on this Thursday, and canceled classes,
determining that the students stay in their homes.
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| Tropical Cyclone Idai Infographic |
Powerful winds and heavy rains could also
punish eastern Zimbabwe and southern Malawi in the coming days, according to
the UN Office, which said there was "a humanitarian response under
way" to help those affected.
So terrible :(
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