African disaster

[Tommy Tainant]

Hundreds feared dead after Cyclone Idai

The death toll in Mozambique from Cyclone Idai could be as high as 1,000, President Filipe Nyusi has said.

Mr Nyusi flew over some of the worst-hit areas on Monday. He described seeing bodies floating in the rivers.

The storm made landfall near the port city of Beira on Thursday with winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph), but aid teams only reached the city on Sunday.

A UN aid worker told the BBC that every building in Beira - home to half a million people - had been damaged.

Gerald Bourke, from the UN's World Food Programme, said: "No building is untouched. There is no power. There is no telecommunications. The streets are littered with fallen electricity lines.

Shocking scenes.

 

[harmonica]

1000?? no warning/etc?

 

[Dekster]

1000?? no warning/etc?

It was and odd storm. It actually hit them twice. It came ashore as a tropical storm, went back out to sea and then circled back around and hit them again as a cyclone. Last I heard it is still sitting there just pounding them with water that could stick around for a few more days. The one plus is that the area has a lot of national parkland that can take in a good chunk of that rainfall.

 

[depotoo]

Sad.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

Fewer people to kill other people.