The death toll from a cyclone that hit Mozambique this week increased to 12 on Sunday, after the southern African country was battered by damaging winds and rain.
Since making landfall on Friday, Cyclone Gombe has impacted over 30,000 people, injured 40 people, and destroyed over 3,000 dwellings.
Winds of up to 170 km/h (105 mph) and torrential rains have wreaked havoc on the northern Nampula province bordering the Indian Ocean, as well as the neighboring Zambezia region.
An AFP photographer witnessed houses teetering on the brink of cliffs facing the ocean in the coastal city of Nacala, and walls had crumbled.
Eight shelters have opened in Nampula, Mozambique’s most populous province which suffered death and destruction when Tropical Storm Ana struck in January.
Mozambique was devastated by Cyclone Idai in 2019, the most violent storm to ever hit the country.
“Gombe arrived with more intensity than Idai, but luckily it didn’t have the same impact, in terms of destruction and the fact that it lost strength right at the beginning,” said Cesar Tembe from Mozambique’s national institute for risk management.
Gombe is now moving towards Malawi, according to Meteo-France.
Around 80 tropical storms or cyclones from above tropical waters around the world each year. The cyclone season in southern Africa lasts from November to April.
FOR UPDATE ALERTS
JOIN 360MEDIA WHATSAPP GROUP
JOIN 360MEDIA TELEGRAM CHANNEL
JOIN 360MEDIA FACEBOOK GROUP
FOLLOW 360MEDIA ON TWITTER
Be the first to comment