A huge clean-up operation was under way on Saturday in some of Mozambique’s most popular resorts as the Southern African nation’s fledgling tourist industry struggled to recover from a devastating cyclone.
Casualties from Cyclone Favio appeared to be limited thanks to a warning system and evacuations by the authorities, with initial reports of 10 dead.
Aid agencies geared up to send supplies to the coastal region worst hit by Thursday’s cyclone, which was downgraded to a tropic storm as it moved across central Mozambique, bringing more flooding and misery to an are that has been deluged since January.
Vilankulo, which used to be an idyllic resort boasting some of Mozambique’s most exclusive tourist lodges, was left in ruins, with mighty palms uprooted and the main road cut in half by a metre-deep pothole. There was no electricity and no running water.
The central market, made of steel and tin, totally collapsed as did most other flimsy structures in an area where most homes are built of bamboo and straw.
Rene Christensen, a Danish national and long-time resident of the town, said all that remained of his home was the frame. ”The good thing about the storm is now I have a view,” he said ironically.
”The bad thing is that nobody is informed and nobody knows what is going on. Everything is broken down. We don’t know if and when we are going to get help. It is as if we have been erased from the map,” Christensen said.
Traumatised residents started cleaning up and some vendors were back on the street selling vegetables and fruit.
Simone Chivale, a 30-year-old artist who lost his home and all his possessions under the weight of a giant palm tree, said his main worry was about the next cyclone, which was reported to the north of Madagascar. It was unclear when and where it would hit Mozambique.
”What will happen to all these children?” asked Chivale, pointing to children playing in streets littered with debris.
The nearby town of Inhambane and the resort of Tofo Beach were also badly hit. The area has stunning beaches and is popular with divers, snorkellers and big-game fishermen because of its array of sea life, including giant mantas and enormous whale sharks.
No tourists
There were no signs of any tourists left in Vilankulo, and locals said that they had all moved to safer ground.
Juan Schuite, the South African manager of an upmarket lodge, said all 27 guests had left before the cyclone, which devastated the premises. He said the hotel might be able to reopen in a month to serve food, but it would take much longer for accommodation.
The government has encouraged the development of the tourist industry as part of the economic revival in an impoverished country that is still suffering from the legacy of colonial rule and civil war.
Authorities said they are still assessing the full scale of the damage and the likely cost of reconstruction. The European Union, the United Nations Children’s Fund and Care are among the agencies sending in relief supplies.
Neighbouring South Africa sent two government ministers into the disaster area and said it is ready to provide material assistance, including helicopters to transport food to the temporary accommodation centers.
The government said it urgently needs tents for displaced people who are now living in temporary accommodation centres, roof sheeting for the reconstruction of homes, and water-treatment plants.
Homeless camps
Fernanda Texeira, the head of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Mozambique, said on Friday that the number of homeless living in tented camps had jumped almost overnight from 88 600 to 121 000, and that more could still arrive.
One of the biggest fears is that the number of diarrhoea cases is increasing with the flooding that also brings a heightened risk of cholera outbreaks, Texeira said.
Favio came ashore south of Beira at Vilankulo on Thursday with sustained winds of 200km/h and heavy rain. By Friday morning, the winds had dropped to 100km/h with stronger gusts and more heavy rain.
It was expected to worsen the flooding from the Zambezi River, which has been swollen by heavy rains in Malawi and Zimbabwe. About 30 people were killed in Mozambique and nearly 90 000 forced from their homes by the earlier floods.
About 800 Mozambicans died in floods caused by two cyclones in 2000 and 2001. Since then, the government has overhauled its disaster-management system, which successfully limited casualties this time around. — Sapa-AP