These images reveal the harsh reality of life for thousands of people across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and into Malawi.
Mums climbed trees and top of their houses to escape huge floods triggered by Cyclone Idai then threw their babies to rescuers in boats.
Aid workers are describing the scenes of devastation and desperation across south east Africa today, in the on-going crisis caused by Cyclone Idai, already being heralded as worst weather-related disaster ever recorded in the southern hemisphere.
Aid agency workers described plucking people from head-deep water, only to have to leave them on patches of land where the water was already reaching their ankles.
Authorities have confirmed that at least 300 people have died in Mozambique and 100 in Zimbabwe, but the death toll is likely to rise as rescuers continue to find bodies.
Here are some of the devastating pictures from the flood hit regions;
A stranded family sits on top of their home after Cyclone Idai, in Buzi district, outside Beira. Idai barrelled into south east Africa last week striking Mozambique with 120 mph winds, then moving inland to Zimbabwe and Malaw
People cross a stream in an area flooded by Cyclone Idai in Chipinge, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean authorities have said more than 100 people have died and hundreds of others are missing there after the storm caused landslides and flooding
Stranded locals look on during floods after Cyclone Idai, in Buzi district, outside Beira, Mozambique. Beira took the full force of Idai when it struck last Thursday. Josias Elias, found clinging to a tree almost submerged in water, said his entire village near Beira was flooded. “There’s no more reason to go back. All of our houses have been destroyed,” he said
A heartbroken man eyes a washed away bridge along Umvumvu river following Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. Aid workers plucked people from head-deep water, only to have to leave them on patches of land where the water was already reaching their ankles
Drones are helping aid workers assess the true level of the devastation, and help pinpoint some of those most in need
Residents stranded on the stands of a stadium in a flooded area of Buzi, central Mozambique. International aid agencies are racing to rescue survivors and meet spiralling humanitarian needs in the three impoverished countries battered by one of the worst storms to hit southern Africa in decades
People are escorted to safety by aid workers at the airport of the coastal city of Beira in central Mozambique on March 19, 2019. More than 80 people were rescued by Rescue South Africa and the South African army with helicopters from the Buzi area, province of Safala, where they were stranded since March 15.
A child is transported on a fridge during floods after Cyclone Idai, in Buzi, outside Beira, Mozambique. Meanwhile aid workers report that desperate mums climbed trees to escape huge floods triggered by Cyclone Idai then threw their babies to rescuers in boats
