The government announced on Tuesday (4) the allocation of 124 million dollars (7.8 billion meticals) for assistance and rehabilitation of public infrastructure destroyed by cyclones Chido and Dikeledi in the north of the country, reports Lusa.
According to the report, speaking after a meeting of the Executive in Maputo, in the south of the country, the spokesman for the Council of Ministers, Inocêncio Impissa, said that ‘the government has funding mechanisms available to deal with the damage caused, having analysed and approved at this session the response plan, which amounts to eight billion meticals, and which will serve as the basis for the assistance and rehabilitation of the destroyed public infrastructures’.
Cyclones Chido and Dikeledi hit the north of the country between December last year and January, with the greatest impact on the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula, causing deaths and material damage with the destruction of public and private infrastructure.
According to Inocêncio Impissa, the government will initially prioritise ‘immediate responses’ to needs in the provinces affected by the disaster, promising to mobilise resources for ‘medium and long-term interventions’.
Tropical cyclone Dikeledi hit Mozambique on 13 January, causing at least 11 deaths and affecting more than 250,000 people, including the destruction of almost 20,000 homes, according to the latest official report from the local authorities.
Cyclone Chido, which hit the country on 14 December, killed at least 120 people and affected 450,000 others.
Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change in the world, facing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.
