Cyclone Idai death toll surges towards 400
Published on: Saturday, March 23, 2019
BEIRA: The death toll from a cyclone that ravaged three southern African countries last week headed towards 400, as officials estimated that more than 1.7 million people had been affected by the storm and 15,000 people were still stranded in floodwater.As the toll surged from the region’s biggest storm in years, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced plans to tackle an emerging threat to survivors from malaria and cholera.ADVERTISEMENT
Cyclone Idai smashed into the coast of central Mozambique last Friday, unleashing hurricane-force winds and rains that flooded the hinterland and drenched eastern Zimbabwe.
Mozambican Land and Environmental Minister Celso Correia said 242 lives had been lost and 15,000 out of 18,000 stranded people still needed to be saved, many of them on rooftops or even in trees.
“Yesterday we had counted 15,000 people that still need rescue today—15,000 people who are in bad shape. They are alive, we are communicating with them, delivering food, but we need to rescue them and take them out,” he told reporters.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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A total of 65,000 people are in transit centres, he said.ADVERTISEMENT
“Our priority now is to make sure we take food, shelter and medicine to the people that are isolated in small islands or in big islands and villages,” Correia said at Beira airport, the humanitarian relief coordination hub.