Cyclone Idai: ‘100,000 people at risk’

Locals stand beside a damaged section of the road between Beira and Chimoio in Nhamatanda district, central Mozambique

Questions about whether the government of Mozambique could have done more to prepare for the Cyclone Idai disaster are raised as the full picture of the crisis slowly becomes clear.

The floods of the year 2000 claimed hundreds of lives and yet some here feel lessons have not been learned.

“Our city was destroyed so easily because our infrastructure is not taken care of. Every time there is a problem here we need foreign countries to save us. What is our government doing, what is our own plan?” our driver asks me.

Back at the airport, a helicopter has just landed and rescue workers rush out carrying in their arms children whose eyes are wide with fear.

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“Many villages have been washed away. We found women and children holding on to trees. We are doing what we can,” said one of the rescuers.

More rains are expected and those who made it to safety are the lucky ones. Mozambique President Felipe Nyusi has said more than 100,000 people are at risk – and there is growing concern that help may not get to them in time.

So far 200 people have been confirmed dead in the southern African country, but the death toll could be much higher.

A general view of the damage after a cyclone swept through Beira

Those who survived the disaster have had little reprieve to mourn the loss of their loved ones or salvage the little that is remaining of their belongings. They are in desperate need of food, shelter and clothing, as the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani reports from Beira.

Inside a makeshift response centre at the airport in Beira, aid agencies are scrambling to get to those still trapped across the region.

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