Heavy rains threaten floods in cyclone-hit Mozambique

Heavy rains pounded northern Mozambique on Saturday, fuelling fears of flooding two days after a cyclone hit the coast, flattened buildings and knocked out communications.

Aid agencies said they were still struggling to reach victims and work out the extent of the devastation in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

Thousands of people in remote areas of storm-lashed Mozambique were homeless Saturday and bracing for imminent flooding, food and water shortages as Cyclone Kenneth flattened entire villages, leaving rescuers struggling to reach them.

Kenneth, which has killed five people, struck northern Mozambique late Thursday, barely a month after the country was hit by one of the worst storms in its history, which claimed hundreds of lives.

“Too many small communities are completely destroyed, not a single house is standing anymore. I could see around 10 communities in this situation,” said Saviano Abreu, a spokesman for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“On Ibo (island), not only the main village but also other communities are destroyed,” he added after a first air reconnaissance mission.

In the village of Nacate, south of Macomia in the cyclone-ravaged Cabo Delgado province, many homes were destroyed, leaving families to fend for themselves in the open.

Mozambique: rescuers help victims of flooding in cyclone-hit country https://t.co/96n56a5dEf

— geraldine jackson (@JacksonGerry) April 28, 2019

Maria Mendosa and Assan Madal and their young children Pizere, Naturesa, Ancha, Ida and Luigi managed to salvage a few chairs, a table, a mattress and cooking pots from their ravaged home.