Death toll from Cyclone Chido in Mozambique rises to 73 | News

According to the national disaster center, at least 66 of the deaths occurred in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

The death toll from Cyclone Chido in Mozambique has risen to 73, according to the National Institute for Risk and Disaster Management.

At least 66 of the deaths occurred in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, the disaster center said Thursday.

Four were killed in Nampula province and three in Niassa, further inland, it said, adding that one person was missing.

More than 540 people were injured by the cyclone, which brought winds of about 260 kilometers per hour (161 miles per hour) and heavy rainfall of about 250 millimeters (10 inches) in 24 hours, the center said.

Chido landed in Mozambique on Sunday after transiting the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. where there are fears that hundreds People could have been killed.

More than 39,100 houses were destroyed and more than 13,400 others were partially destroyed, it said. More than 329,500 people were affected by the storm, according to Mozambique’s disaster center.

Chido hit a part of northern Mozambique that is regularly hit by cyclones and is already at risk due to conflict and underdevelopment.

Guy Taylor, UNICEF spokesman in Mozambique, said the situation in much of northern Mozambique could be described as “devastation”.

“This is an area of ​​the country where many, many people are already living in extremely precarious conditions. Mozambique is a country where we already have 3.4 million children in need of humanitarian assistance,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Even before this crisis, many people, including children and families, lost everything. We saw houses and entire villages completely torn to pieces. That’s why people need protection.”

After the cyclone swept across Mozambique, it moved into Malawi, where it killed 13 people and injured dozens more, according to the country’s civil protection agency.

Destruction in Mayotte

Meanwhile, at least 31 people have been confirmed dead and more than 1,500 people have been injured, including more than 200 critically, in the French overseas territory of Mayonette, French authorities said.

France has applied to the European aid mechanism for 10,000 tents and emergency shelters to support Mayotte, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said.

People move on devastated by the storm Mayotte on Thursday pleaded with French President Emmanuel Macron to do more to help as he toured the overseas territory.

The wind howled at more than 220 km/h (136 mph), ripping off the roofs and walls of houses, collapsing around people sheltering inside.

In the Kaweni shantytown, on the outskirts of the capital Mamoudzou, a row of hillside houses were transformed into scraps of corrugated iron, plastic, piles of bedding and clothing and pieces of wood that marked the frame where houses once stood.