The storm left widespread damage along the coastline, from Inhambane to Beira, as it cut power and water supplies, tore corrugated-iron roofs from houses, and uprooted coconut palm trees and telegraph poles. The cyclone follows two weeks of flooding, and vast tracts of land in southern Mozambique are submerged. Thousands of people there are reportedly seeking shelter on high ground. Logistical problems are hampering their rescue as roads and bridges have been washed away. The Mozambican Government estimates that a total of 800,000 people have been affected across the country, with most of them in urgent need of food aid and assistance, according to the U.N. Families living in the Limpopo Valley had no food and little clean water, and outbreaks of dysentery were rampant.
Many people are at risk from water-borne disease, malaria, and malnourishment.
Meanwhile, flooded rivers have not yet begun to recede in many areas, preventing people from returning to their communities. Flying over the Incomati River further south last week, Frazer saw many people stranded on rooftops, and on the remains of roads and bridges. Some of them, he said, had been there for two to three days. Red Cross volunteers are delivering first aid kits and chlorine to sanitize the water supplies. For the nearly 100,000 people made homeless in Maputo, Red Cross officials have been distributing relief in food, blankets, and shelter.