UN agencies say they are ramping up efforts to help communities in Mozambique hit hard by Tropical Cyclone Eloise.
Cyclone Eloise made landfall near Beira, a major city in Sofala province, central Mozambique, on 23 January with high winds, heavy rains and severe flooding.
The storm, which reportedly killed at least six people and injured 12 others, damaged more than 8,800 houses and at least 26 health centres, disrupting power and communication links.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says more than 176,000, including up to 90,000 children, have been affected.
‘As humanitarian partners were already responding to multiple needs in Mozambique including the conflict in Cabo Delgado in the north and the recent impact of Tropical Storm Chalane, more resources are urgently needed to ensure we can scale up quickly to respond to Tropical Cyclone Eloise’, Spokesperson for OCHA, Jens Laerke, told journalists at a media briefing in Geneva.
It was gathered that about 32 accommodation centres for displaced persons have been set up in the heavily affected Sofala province, including in Beira city, providing temporary accommodation for around 15,000 families.
Spokesperson for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Paul Dillon, said at the same briefing that churches, mosques and some government offices were also housing displaced persons.
According to him, initial assessments indicated that over half of the 71 resettlement centres sheltering people displaced by the 2019 Cyclone Idai are in areas affected by Cyclone Eloise.
‘IOM staff are distributing soap and a limited supply of cloth face masks to the most vulnerable’, Dillon added.
‘They are also providing information on the need to maintain physical distancing, but it is very difficult under the current circumstances’.
Following the storm, Zimbabwe has been impacted by heavy rains, with reports of localised flooding and mudslides.
Heavy rainfall and flooding has also been reported in South Africa, and Botswana expects widespread rainfall in coming days.
Source: UN News
Photo source: UNICEF/Ricardo Franco
