A new deadly storm hit northern Mozambique more than a month after Cyclone Idai ravaged the country. Homes were destroyed and power lines cut in the city of Pemba, with UN officials warning of "massive flooding."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/I. Youssouf
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The powerful cyclone Kenneth claimed its first casualty in Mozambique when a woman was killed by a falling tree in the city of Pemba on Friday. Previously, the storm had killed at least three people in the Comoros, the island nation off the coast of Africa.
Pemba was struggling with power outages and power lines were also reportedly down in other communities in the north of the country.
Authorities reported 90 percent of houses on the nation's Ibo island in northern Cabo Delgado were destroyed by the storm.
Mozambique's National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC) sought to assure the public that food and relief equipment was already in the area.
"Our response teams were deployed on the ground," spokesman Paulo Tomas said. "We have emergency and ministerial teams there."
Kenneth reached Mozambique territory late on Thursday, with maximum sustained winds of up to 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. Other sources reported gusts of wind hitting 280 kilometers per hour.
Meteorologists warned that the cyclone has the equivalent strength of a Category 4 hurricane, according to NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, which is tracking the storm. They added that "this is the first (and strongest) hurricane-strength storm" to hit this area of the country.
The UN warned that the latest storm — expected to dump heavy amounts of rain — could cause flash flooding and landslides in Mozambique's far north.
Authorities have warned that several rivers, as well as coastal waterways, might overflow — placing hundreds of thousands of people at risk of flooding.
The director of Mozambique's National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC), Augusta Maita, said evacuation orders were in force in Cabo Delgado Province.
"All measures will be implemented to save lives," said Maita. "We will make sure that people are evacuated today, even if it means forced evacuation," she said.
Cyclone Idai slammed into southeast Africa in March, killing over 1,000 people. In Mozambique, the city of Beira was particularly hard hit. How are the city's 600,000 inhabitants coping?
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Beira transformed into a construction site
Beira now resembles a construction site six weeks after Cyclone Idai hit the city. Almost all the rooftops were either blown away or severely damaged. The World Bank estimates the total damage across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi amounts to $2 billion (€1.78 billion).
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Life without a roof
The roof of Andre Lino's house was blown away in the storm and he can't afford a new one. Lino and his family have lived here since 1977 — just 100 meters (109 yards) away from the beach. "The sea is getting closer," says Lino. "That scares me." He would like to move away, but can't afford to.
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Rising sea levels a concern
Parts of Beira are below sea level. The city has suffered from many fatal floods in the past and further catastrophes are likely in the near future. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that the sea level is expected to increase by another 40 to 80 centimeters (16 to 31 inches) by 2100.
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Fragile shacks by the sea
The poorest neighborhoods, such as Praia Nova, were hit hardest. Shacks were torn apart by the storm. Many fishermen also lost their boats.
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Water management project
In the city center, millions of miles of canals and tidal structures were built just a few years ago with the help of German development aid. German development bank KfW contributed €13 million to finance the construction work.
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Lock prevents greater damage
"The rain started on the day of the cyclone," says Eduardo dos Santos, who operates the city's main lock. "So we opened the floodgates so that the water could flow back into the sea. Had we not done so, the flooding in the city would have been worse."
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Mayor tackles climate change
"We are used to flooding," says the mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango. "But this kind of cyclone was new for us so we have to respond now." Simango has organized a donor conference in June, where he hopes to raise more money to better protect the city from the effects of climate change.
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The cleanup continues
The city administration is eager to restore order before the donor conference in June. Parts of the city now have access to electricity and running water. But not all areas have been given the all-clear.
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Volunteers keen to help
Volunteers like Magdalena Louis help with the ongoing reconstruction work. She has been on duty for weeks and is only given lunch every day in return. "I just want our city to be clean again," she says. "Nobody has to pay me for that."
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Refugee camps in the city
Aid organizations from all over the world are maintaining a presence in the city. Thousands of people are still living in tents and rely on food donations. The health situation remains tense: Cholera has broken out and cases of malaria may also increase.
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No harvest, no food
Outside Beira, large swathes of crops were also destroyed by the storm. "All of the corn, all of the rice…everything is gone," says farmer Elisa Jaque. The 61-year-old is already re-planting seeds. But she won't be able to feed herself and her family again for at least six months.
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A welcome distraction
There are also signs that Beira is slowly returning to normalcy. A friendly match between local football teams attracts hundreds of spectators — although the stadium roof was another victim of the cyclone.
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A step towards normalcy
Those who couldn't afford tickets for the football match found creative solutions. They parked minibuses and vans around the stadium and used them as makeshift grandstands. This scene will be repeated for next week's match. Another step towards normalcy in Beira.
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President Filipe Nyusi has urged calm.
"The Mozambican people know how to respond to disasters like this," he said in a televised address.
Cyclone Kenneth had already brought destruction to the Comoros, ripping roofs off buildings and causing widespread power outages in the capital, Moroni.
Police and soldiers cleared blocked roads on Thursday morning, with government offices and schools closed.
Cumulative impact of storms
Cyclone Kenneth made landfall near the port city of Pemba – further north than where Cyclone Idai first hit Mozambique last month.
Nevertheless, agencies warned that damage caused by the two weather systems — in such relatively quick succession — could have a cumulative impact on communities.
"We are especially concerned about Cyclone Kenneth's possible impact in Mozambique where communities are still recovering from the devastation of Cyclone Idai," said Fatoumata Nafo-Traore, regional director for Africa for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
