Aid workers warn on COVID-19 in camps for Mozambique cyclone victims Reuters 1/26/2021 Thousands displaced by cyclone Eloise, living in camps Victims living at least 10 in each tent, aid workers warn
By Emma Rumney
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Crowded centres for people left destitute by Cyclone Eloise in Mozambique create the perfect conditions for COVID-19 to spread, with some living at least 10 to a tent with no access to water, soap or masks, an international aid group said on Tuesday.
Cyclone Eloise, which made landfall in Mozambique in the early hours of Saturday, weakened into a tropical storm as it moved inland to Zimbabwe, South Africa, eSwtatini - formerly Swaziland - and Botswana.
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Severe winds and heavy rains wrecked thousands of buildings, ruined crops and displaced almost 7,000 people in Mozambique over the weekend, officials said in their first detailed report on the disaster.
Aerial view of flooding after Tropical Cyclone Eloise, in Beira, Mozambique January 22, 2021 in this image obtained from social media. Picture taken January 22, 2021. Courtesy of Mercy Air via REUTERS
Tropical cyclone Eloise hit Mozambique’s Sofala coastal province on Saturday morning before weakening and heading inland to dump rain on Zimbabwe, eSwatini - formerly known as Swaziland - and South Africa.
Authorities initially said Eloise had only caused minor damage in Mozambique’s port city of Beira but that it was too early to gauge the full extent of the damage across the rest of the region.
A tropical cyclone that struck central Mozambique last week has affected 250,000 people, a sharp increase over initial estimates, according to a UN official.
Myrta Kaulard, the UN’s resident coordinator in Mozambique, added on Tuesday that 18,000 people were internally displaced after Cyclone Eloise made landfall in the early hours of Saturday.
“Yesterday, we were mentioning 170,000 people affected. Today, the official figures have climbed to 250,000,” Kaulard said in a video call with reporters at the UN, adding that 76 health centres and hundreds of classrooms were damaged.
“We also see widespread floods that are still there and a lot of people trying still to get out of the flooded areas,” she said.
okayafrica Photo credit should read EMIDIO JOZINE/AFP via Getty Images
Residents walk in the flooded streets of the Paquite district of Pemba on April 29, 2019, as Cyclone Kenneth hit northern Mozambique, killing 38 and destroying thousands of home. - Heavy rain battered northern Mozambique on April 29 as residents and relief workers confronted the widespread devastation wrought by Cyclone Kenneth, the strongest cyclone to ever hit Africa, weeks after Cyclone Idai hit the city of Beira, 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) to the south. Thousands Left Homeless After Tropical Cyclone Eloise Hits Mozambique
Cyclone Eloise has thus far displaced close to 7000 people and destroyed houses, crops, schools and hospitals.