3 Feb 2021 by david MAPUTO, Mozambique
Aid workers are scrambling to help an estimated 175,000 people affected by Cyclone Eloise which ripped through the south of Mozambique recently, causing major devastation in the city of Beira and the surrounding Buzi district.
According to reports by aid agencies and local media, more than 8,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged in Sofala province, with many thousands housed in emergency accommodation centres.
Immediate concerns are for the provision of basic supplies such as food, water and hygiene facilities, as well as the associated risks of the spread of disease. In addition to water-borne diseases such as cholera, authorities are worried about the spread of COVID-19 in the cramped conditions of the emergency facilities.
Mozambique’s relief agency, the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGRD), has warned that more than 30,000 people may be affected by flooding in the next two days in the southern Gaza province.
The relief agency has attributed the flooding to the overflow of the Limpopo and Shingwedzi rivers due to heavy rains caused by Cylone Eloise.
INGRD warned those living in the districts of Xai-Xai and Limpopo districts to leave the area for their own safety due to the expected floodings. A tropical cyclone that hit central Mozambique on the weekend has displaced thousands of people and caused severe flooding in an area battered by two deadly cyclones in 2019, response teams and aid agencies said.
Monday, 25 Jan 2021 06:39 PM MYT
Stranded: Homes in the Buzi area of central Mozambique after Cyclone Eloise. UNICEF/AFP pic
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MAPUTO, Jan 25 A tropical cyclone that hit central Mozambique this weekend has displaced thousands of people and caused severe flooding in an area battered by two deadly cyclones in 2019, response teams and aid agencies said.
Cyclone Eloise made landfall in the early hours of Saturday, bringing high-speed winds followed by torrential rain over the port city of Beira, capital of Mozambique’s Sofala province, and the adjacent Buzi district.
Mozambique: Tropical Storm Eloise - Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA)
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Description of the disaster
This DREF operation is being launched in response to Tropical Storm Eloise, which made landfall on early hours of 23 January 2021 near Beira City in Sofala Province, Central Mozambique. According to the National Institute of Meteorology of Mozambique (INAM), Eloise made landfall with sustained wind speed of up to 140km/h and gusts up to 160km/h and has brought heavy to intense rainfall to the coastal and inland areas. Other provinces being impacted are Inhambane and Gaza Provinces.
There are growing concerns regarding the potential for widespread floods, with all river basins in Sofala and Inhambane provinces already above alert levels before Eloise making landfall and more rains to follow in the coming days.