A huge clean-up operation was under way on Saturday in some of Mozambique's most popular resorts as the southern African nation's fledgling tourist industry struggled to recover from a devastating cyclone.
Casualties from Cyclone Favio appeared to be limited thanks to a warning system and evacuations by the authorities, with initial reports of 10 dead.
Aid agencies geared up to send supplies to the coastal region worst hit by Thursday's cyclone, which was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved across central Mozambique, bringing more flooding and misery to area which has been deluged since January.
PHOTO: AP
Vilanculos, which used to be an idyllic resort boasting some of Mozambique's most exclusive tourist lodges, was left in ruins, with mighty palms uprooted and the main road cut in half by a meter-deep pothole. There was no electricity and no running water.
The central market, made of steel and tin, totally collapsed as did most other flimsy structures in an area where most homes are built of bamboo and straw.
Traumatized residents started cleaning up and some vendors were back on the street selling vegetables and fruit.
Simone Chivale, a 30-year-old artist who lost his home and all his possessions under the weight of a giant palm tree, said his main worry was about the next cyclone, which was reported to the north of Madagascar. It was unclear when and where it would hit Mozambique.
"What will happen to all these children?" asked Chivale, pointing to children playing in streets littered with debris.
The nearby town of Inhambane and the resort of Tofo Beach were also badly hit. The area has stunning beaches and is popular with divers, snorkelers and big game fishermen because of the array of sea life, including giant mantas and enormous whale sharks.
There were no signs of tourists in Vilanculos and locals said that they had all moved to safer ground.
The government has encouraged the development of the tourist industry as part of the economic revival in an impoverished country which is still suffering from the legacy of colonial rule and civil war.
Authorities said they were still assessing the full scale of the damage and the likely cost of reconstruction. The EU, UNICEF and CARE were among the agencies sending in relief supplies.
Neighboring South Africa sent two government ministers into the disaster area and said it was ready to provide material assistance, including helicopters to transport food to the temporary accommodation centers.
The government said it urgently needed tents for displaced people who are now living in temporary accommodation centers, roof sheeting for the reconstruction of homes and water treatment plants.
Fernanda Texeira, the head of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Mozambique, said on Friday that the number of homeless living in tented camps had jumped almost overnight from 88,600 to 121,000 and that more could still arrive.
One of the biggest fears was that the number of diarrhea cases were increasing with the flooding that also brought a heightened risk of cholera outbreaks, Texeira said.
Favio came ashore south of Beira at Vilankulos on Thursday with sustained winds of 200kph and heavy rain.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in