Cyclone Idai: Mozambique Death Toll Still Rising, Records 17 More
The official death toll from the devastating Cyclone Idai in Mozambique is still rising, with 17 more deaths recorded. That brings the total to 518 people since March 31.
Accordingto the government, nearly 110,000 houses have also been identified as totally destroyed (59,910), partially destroyed (33,925) or flooded (15,784).
More than 146,000 displaced people were sheltering in155 sites across Sofala (116,237 people), Manica (14,047 people), Zambezia (13,203 people) andTete (2,655 people)as of April 1; of whom more than 7,400 were identified as vulnerable, according to the government.
The Ministry of Health reported that 1,052 cases of cholera had been recorded, including one death. Most of the cases reported have been in Beira (959 cases; one death), followed by Nhamatanda (87 cases), and Dondo, where a new cholera outbreak was reported, with six confirmed cases.
Of these, 258 cases (25 per cent) were reported in the last 48 hours. The cholera outbreak is occurring in both urban (Beira city) and rural settings, includingin flooded areas where water, sanitation and health infrastructure has been severely damaged.
More than 711,000 hectares of crops have been recorded as destroyed, raising concerns over food security and sustainability of return.
In Chimoio district alone, the authorities report that more than 451,300 hectares of agricultural land have been destroyed which comprises 65per cent of the total crops in the Province. Displaced people living in accommodation centres report that, in addition to damaged or destroyed houses, lack of food and destroyed livelihoods are among the reasons for people not wantingto return, according to Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) monitoring.
