The government announced on Tuesday (25) that it was shutting down 34 temporary accommodation centres set up to house the victims of tropical cyclone Jude, which hit the country at the beginning of the month. The decision is due to the progressive return of the population to their areas of origin, after receiving the necessary assistance.
‘In the first days of the emergency, 71 transitional accommodation centres were set up. Currently, only 37 remain, which means that 34 have already been deactivated, as the populations have been properly assisted,’ said Inocêncio Impissa, spokesperson for the Council of Ministers, after a session of the body held in Niassa province, northern Mozambique.
Despite the closure of a significant part of these centres, the authorities guarantee that humanitarian assistance to the resettled families will continue, with emphasis on the supply of essential goods and the creation of decent living conditions.
Cyclone Jude, which entered Mozambican territory on 10 March, through the district of Mossuril in Nampula province, caused the deaths of at least 16 people and also affected the provinces of Tete, Manica, Zambézia, Niassa and Cabo Delgado.
According to updated figures from the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD), the phenomenon affected 384,877 people, corresponding to 82,780 families.
Cyclone Jude entered Mozambican territory on 10 March, through the Mossuril district in Nampula province
The damage included 89 houses that were totally or partially destroyed, 1,854 flooded houses, 263 schools, 144 buildings of worship, 81 health centres, as well as various public infrastructures, including 20 bridges, 43 aqueducts and more than 100,000 hectares of devastated agricultural land.
The destruction also extended to 68 boats, eight water supply systems and 1,318 electricity pylons, showing the extensive scale of the damage caused by the cyclone.
Mozambique is currently going through the rainy season, which runs from October to April, a period during which cyclones Chido and Dikeledi were also recorded, which, between December and January, mainly affected the north of the country, impacting around 736,000 people and destroying numerous public and private infrastructures.
Classed as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, Mozambique cyclically faces extreme phenomena such as floods, tropical cyclones and severe droughts, and this is yet another episode to test the country’s capacity for response and resilience.
Source: Lusa
