Around 650,000 children are at risk from the impacts of Cyclone Chido in northern Mozambique, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Save The Children warned on Monday, adding that aid actions are underway.
“Cyclone Chido is a catastrophe for children in northern Mozambique. They risk losing their homes, being separated from their families and having extremely limited access to water, sanitation, healthcare and education,” said Ilaria Manunza, director of Save The Children in Mozambique, quoted in a statement from the organisation.
She said that Save The Children has prepared teams and resources to support those most affected by the storm, as part of an “urgent and multidimensional response”, also mentioning the vulnerability of communities exposed to Chido.
“This storm is yet another example of extreme weather conditions devastating an already vulnerable community, torn apart by conflict and plunged into poverty,” added Ilaria Manunza.
According to the NGO, organisational teams are present in most areas hardest hit by the cyclone. They will support the establishment of child protection systems and services and the rehabilitation of destroyed schools.
“Save the Children is preparing to support the affected communities with survival kits and other essential items, in coordination with other agencies,” reads the statement, which also warns of difficulties in assisting Cabo Delgado, due to the presence of armed groups that have been carrying out attacks in the region since 2017.
At least four people died, and another 37 were injured after Cyclone Chido hit the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula, according to organisations on the ground.
According to the National Emergency Operations Centre (cnoe), the cyclone, which had a scale of 3 (1 to 5), hit the coastal area of northern Mozambique on Saturday night.
The same service indicated that the cyclone had weakened to a severe tropical storm but that it was still lashing those two northern provinces, with “very heavy rainfall of over 250 mm [millimetres]/24 hours, accompanied by thunderstorms and winds with very strong gusts”.
“This scenario presents a high risk of urban flooding and erosion in the cities of Pemba, Nacala and Lichinga, as well as in low-lying and riverside areas of the Muaguide, Megaruma and Lúrio river basins,” said the CNOE information, consulted by Lusa.
Around 200,000 customers were left without electricity in Nampula and Cabo Delgado due to the effects of Chido’s passage, said Eletricidade de Moçambique (EDM) on Sunday, and at least three flights to the northern region were cancelled on the same day by the airline Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM).
On Thursday, Mozambican authorities already acknowledged that the cyclone could affect around 2.5 million people in the provinces of Nampula, Cabo Delgado, and Niassa in the north and Zambézia and Tete in the centre.
Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change, facing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.
The 2018/2019 rainy season was one of the most severe on record in Mozambique: 714 people died, including 648 victims of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, two of the biggest ever to hit the country.
According to official government figures, heavy rains and Cyclone Freddy’s passage in the first half of 2023 caused 306 deaths, affected more than 1.3 million people, and destroyed 236,000 homes and 3,200 classrooms.
Lusa
