Cyclone ‘Chido’, which has also been downgraded to a tropical depression, no longer poses a danger to the country, as it is now in Zimbabwe and may disappear on Wednesday 18 December, reports the newspaper O País.
According to the newspaper, quoting the National Meteorological Institute, the forecast now is that the next few days will be characterised by high temperatures throughout the country.
INAM has previously warned that 12 cyclones are forecast for this rainy and cyclonic season 2024-2025 and, if the forecast comes true, the next one could be called Dikeledi.
According to UNHCR spokeswoman Eujin Byun, the cyclone, which hit the northern coast of the country on Sunday via Cabo Delgado and Nampula, causing at least 34 deaths so far, ‘destroyed homes, displaced thousands of people and severely damaged roads and communication routes, hampering aid efforts in areas that already host a large number of displaced people due to terrorism’.
The UN refugee agency says it is ‘deeply concerned about the impact on these vulnerable communities’ and is ‘working closely with the government and humanitarian partners to provide immediate assistance to the affected populations’.
‘In some villages, few houses remain intact. Years of conflict, forced displacement and economic hardship have left communities in the region increasingly vulnerable. For many displaced families, Cyclone ‘Chido’ has caused new difficulties, destroying what little they have managed to rebuild,’ warned the UNHCR spokeswoman, assuring that the agency is “coordinating the provision of vital protection services to the most vulnerable”.
‘Although the full extent of the damage in rural areas remains uncertain, preliminary assessments suggest that around 190,000 people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, 33 schools have been affected and almost 10,000 houses have been destroyed,’ said Eujin Byun, quoted by the Lusa news agency.
