The storm ripped roofs off houses, cut water and power supplies on Tuesday, and drenched the former Portuguese colony, which was already devastated by the heaviest flooding in a half a century. United Nations officials say the flooding has killed 67 people. More than 200,000 people have been forced from their homes by two weeks of torrential rains.
Officials say refugees are now at risk for outbreaks of cholera, malaria and meningitis.
Local radio reports say that sparsely populated fishing villages near Inhambane, a coastal town 300 miles north of the capital, Maputo, had been washed away. Throughout the region, bad weather is slowing efforts to assess the damage. Another storm, Cyclone Felecia, is bearing down on Mozambique and could come ashore in a few days. The World Food Program is using four South African helicopters to bring aid to some of the worst hit areas. Each helicopter can carry two tons of food, including corn, flour, beans, sugar and oil.