A cyclone that has battered coastal areas of northern and central Mozambique has killed at least 16 people and hundreds more have been injured, rescue services said on Tuesday.
Joao Ribeiro, deputy director of the national disaster-management institute (INGC), said that six people were killed by Cyclone Jokwe between Saturday and Sunday in coastal districts of the Zambezia province.
State radio, quoting Nampula Governor Felismino Tocoli, said a further 10 had died in his northern province.
Speaking by telephone from the central city of Caia, Ribeiro said more than 10 000 houses had been destroyed by the tropical cyclone in Zambezia province, which hit Mozambique on Saturday.
He said the cyclone, which was now raging in the central part of the Mozambican Channel, was expected to hit coastal districts of Inhambane province, 800km from Maputo, early on Wednesday.
Ribeiro said authorities had placed the tourism districts of Govuro and Vilankulo on yellow alert, and the INGC deployed extra staff to help.
However, Ribeiro said no decision had been taken to evacuate people from the islands.
Ten people were killed in February last year when Cyclone Favio hit the districts. A number of public buildings and tourist resorts were razed and some hotels and lodges remained closed until August.
Emidio Machiana, a spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund, meanwhile, said that his organisation had sent teams to assess the situation of children in districts affected by the cyclone.
He said 9 162 homes were completely destroyed by the cyclone in eight districts of Nampula while a further 2 620 were partially destroyed. — AFP