At least 34 people are dead and 43 injured after Cyclone Chido slammed into northern Mozambique on Sunday, with the head of the country’s disaster management agency putting the number of people affected at around 2.5 million, reports Voice of America.
The cyclone made landfall in Mecufi, a coastal village of 61,000 in the northern province of Cabo Delgado that suffered near-total devastation, before the storm moved inland to Niassa and Nampula provinces. Most of the deaths appear to be the result of flying or collapsing debris, according to the spokesperson from the National Institute of Risk and Disaster Management (known by its Portuguese abbreviation INGD). So far, more than 34,000 Mozambican families have lost their homes to the 260 kmh winds and driving rains, which also destroyed schools, health facilities and fishing boats. Around 200,000 customers of state-owned power company EDM are without power, upending communications in the region.
Meteorologists from the national weather agency say remnants of the storm system will continue to batter Cabo Delgado and Niassa, as well as other parts of Mozambique, further hampering rescue and recovery efforts.
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The small French territory of Mayotte, an island located off the coast of Mozambique, bore the brunt of Cyclone Chido. While the official death toll sits at 21, officials fear that hundreds or even thousands could have been killed by the Category 4 cyclone before it moved on to Mozambique. Only 10 percent of buildings escaped damage in what one official noted was the strongest storm to strike Mayotte in nearly a century.
This month marks the beginning of cyclone season in the Indian Ocean, lasting from December to March. Experts warn that the frequency and intensity of heavy rains and tropical cyclones in the area is expected to increase in early 2025, fuelled by La Nina. Just last year, Cyclone Freddy devastated Mozambique and much of the region, killing more than 1,400 people as it pummelled the area for at least 36 days, making it the longest-lived storm ever recorded.
The late-season storm was also the most intense tropical storm ever recorded – a title experts believe it won’t hold onto as climate change warms the oceans. Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by global climate change, and cyclones are among its biggest vulnerabilities. Freddy caused more than US$1.5 billion in damages and killed over 180 people. While estimates for Chido’s economic damage remain unknown, the INGD warns that the death toll is likely to rise.
