By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Since Cyclone Idai roared into the Mozambican port city of Beira on March 14, devastating losses are mounting exponentially yet international aid has been slow to reach all survivors.
Severe flooding produced by Idai’s strong winds and heavy rains caused the rivers Pungwe and Buzi to break their banks. In the district of Buzi, thousands clung for their lives on trees and rooftops, as their villages turned into an ocean. Even as the rains have subsided and the waters are receding, the risk of flooding remains, as dams upstream reach full capacity.
According to UN News, the death toll across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, stands at around 700, but figures are expected to rise, with hundreds still missing. An estimated three million have been affected, nearly two-thirds of them in Mozambique, where key port city Beira was “practically razed to the ground” while the farmland interior has been inundated, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Dr Djamila Cabral, WHO Representative in Mozambique, said that in Beira, Mozambique, more than 100,000 people have lost their homes and all of their possessions.
In addition, “families, pregnant women (and) babies are living in temporary camps in horrific conditions…without secure food supplies, or safe drinking water and sanitation”.
At least 1.8 million people need humanitarian assistance in Mozambique alone. Cases of acute watery diarrhoea similar to cholera, have already been reported among victims.
To prevent an outbreak, WHO is sending 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine to the devastated country that should arrive by the end of March. It is also pre-positioning supplies to treat diarrhoeal diseases, including lifesaving intravenous fluids and diagnostic tests, while also setting up three cholera treatment centres, including an 80-bed facility in Beira.
To counter a spike in malaria in the coming weeks, WHO is also preparing to provide 900,000 insecticide-treated bed nets to protect families.
Rapid diagnostic tests and anti-malarial medicine are being sent to high-risk areas, too, but this and other health needs will require “at least” $38 million over the next three months, Dr. Cabral said.
Coordinating food needs for cyclone victims, the World Food Programme (WFP) is targeting 1.7 million people in Mozambique with food assistance, 732,000 in Malawi and 270,000 people in Zimbabwe.
Dire shortages of food, water and other necessities were reported by the head of a South African rescue operation. Around 15,000 people are still missing, according to Land and Environment Minister Celso Correia.
But delays in the arrival of assistance were fuelling anger and desperation, acknowledged Connor Hartnady, rescue operations task force leader for Rescue South Africa.
“There have been three security incidents today, all food related,” he told his team on March 21 without giving further details.
The UN has made an emergency appeal for $282 million for the next three months to help Mozambique start rebuilding their communities. Designating the disaster a “scale-up emergency”, which is the most severe, Guterres said: “I call on the international community to fund these appeals quickly and fully so that aid agencies can urgently ramp up their responses.”
But help has been coming in dribs and drabs – especially from those with the most resources. U.S. military personnel, for example, were en route to Mozambique on March 25, over a week after the cyclone hit, to assess damage and plan a relief mission aided by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).
The Pentagon has authorized AFRICOM to expend up to $6.5 million in relief funds to provide logistics support for up to 10 days, which began March 22. The military’s role will be to assist the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Two Portuguese Airforce C130 transport planes were due to depart to the region. The first one was taking 35 soldiers, medical personnel and a disaster relief team from the National Republican Guard.
Mozambique is home to thousands of nationals from Portugal. Santos Silva said that 30 of the country’s citizens had not yet been contacted.
Meanwhile, ExxonMobil, which earned $6 billion in profits in the fourth quarter of 2018, announced on March 19 that it is donating $300,000 to aid agencies to support disaster relief and recovery efforts in Mozambique.
Of this amount, $250,000 will be contributed to the American Red Cross for ongoing rescue efforts and for food, shelter and comfort for the storm’s victims. ExxonMobil’s affiliate ExxonMobil Moçambique Limitada will contribute another $50,000 to organizations operating in Mozambique that are assisting the government with disaster relief efforts.
“We are deeply saddened by the impact of Cyclone Idai on Mozambique and surrounding countries,” said Darren W. Woods, ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer. “The devastation has been widespread, and this funding will help provide relief during a difficult time. Our thoughts are with everyone affected.”
In Mozambique, ExxonMobil holds an indirect 25 percent interest in Area 4 and will lead the construction and operation of onshore natural gas liquefaction plants. The company also holds 60 percent operating interest in the Angoche (A5-B) and Zambezi Delta (Z5-C and Z5-D) basins awarded during Mozambique’s fifth licensing round. [IDN-InDepthNews – 26 March 2019]
Photo: Relief efforts under way in Mozambican city of Beira. Source: africanews.
IDN is flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate.
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