Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Drone footage shows the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai

The death toll in Mozambique from Cyclone Idai could be as high as 1,000, President Filipe Nyusi has said.

Mr Nyusi flew over some of the worst-hit areas on Monday. He described seeing bodies floating in the rivers.

The storm made landfall near the port city of Beira on Thursday with winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph), but aid teams only reached the city on Sunday.

A UN aid worker told the BBC that every building in Beira - home to half a million people - had been damaged.

Gerald Bourke, from the UN's World Food Programme, said: "No building is untouched. There is no power. There is no telecommunications. The streets are littered with fallen electricity lines.

"The roofs on so many houses have fallen in, likewise the walls. A lot of people in the city have lost their homes."

Rescue crews spent much of the night helping people from trees, Jamie LeSeur, the head of the IFRC assessment team, told the BBC.

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The official death toll in Mozambique stands at 84 following flooding and high winds. The cyclone has killed at least 180 people across southern Africa.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society (IFRC) described the damage as "massive and horrifying".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption People clambered on roofs and up trees in order to save themselves

In Zimbabwe, at least 98 people have died and 217 people are missing in the east and south, the government said.

The death toll included two pupils from the St Charles Lwanga boarding school in the district of Chimanimani, who died after their dormitory was hit when rocks swept down a mountain.

Image copyright AFP Image caption People clambered on roofs and up trees in order to save themselves in Beira in Mozambique

Malawi was also badly hit. The flooding there, caused by the rains before the cyclone made landfall, led to at least 122 deaths, Reliefweb reports.

The UK government said it would provide humanitarian aid worth £6m ($8m) to Mozambique and Malawi. It also said it would send tents and thousands of shelter kits to Mozambique.

How bad is the damage in Beira?

Most of those known to have died so far were killed around Beira, the country's fourth largest city with a population of about 500,000, authorities there said.

More than 1,500 people were injured by falling trees and debris from buildings including zinc roofing, officials in the capital Maputo told the BBC.

"Almost everything has been affected by the calamity," Alberto Mondlane, the governor of Sofala province, which includes Beira, said on Sunday. "We have people currently suffering, some on top of trees and are badly in need of help."

Image copyright AFP Image caption The port city of Beira bore the brunt of the cyclone

Image copyright IFRC/Caroline Haga Image caption The Red Cross did an aerial assessment of Beira on Sunday

Local people in Beira have put in an "incredible effort" to reopen roads in the city, Mr LeSeur told the BBC's Newsday programme.

The road linking Beira to the rest of the country was damaged, but air links have now resumed. President Filipe Nyusi cut short a trip to eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, to visit the affected areas.

What's the situation in Zimbabwe?

A state of disaster has been declared in Zimbabwe. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has returned home early from a trip to the United Arab Emirates to "make sure he is involved directly with the national response", the authorities say.

The ministry of information has shared pictures of pupils from St Charles Lwanga School, who have now been rescued.

Shocked survivors at a hospital in Chimanimani district told how the floods destroyed their homes and swept away their loved ones.

"I still have not found where my daughter is buried in the debris," Jane Chitsuro told the AFP news agency. "There is no furniture, no more clothes, there is only rubble and stones."

Praise Chipore's house was also destroyed. "My daughter who was with me in bed was washed away from me and a bigger flood carried me further away," she said.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Praise Chipore, 31, was recovering in hospital in Chimanimani

'Never seen anything like this'

Shingai Nyoka, BBC Africa, eastern Zimbabwe

My journey to Chimanimani ended abruptly when we came across a huge crater in the road. The river was raging below and scores of people were standing on either side.

This was the main road linking the city of Mutare to the villages of Chimanimani, which have been cut off. Aid teams have been unable to get through.

People who live in this area say they have never seen anything like this. An elderly couple, Edson and Miriam Sunguro, told me that they have been trying to contact relatives in Chimanimani without success.

What will the weather do next?

"There is a risk of more rain over the next few days for the northern half of Mozambique and southern Malawi," BBC Weather's Chris Fawkes said.

There could be thunderstorms, he added, but "the picture is complicated by thick layers of cloud left over from Idai that could prevent some thunderstorms from starting".

Are you in the area? If it is safe to do so please get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:</s>Mozambique's president says death toll for Cyclone Idai may be more than 1,000

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Mozambique's president says death toll for Cyclone Idai may be more than 1,000.</s>The number of people killed in a powerful storm and preceding floods in Mozambique could exceed 1,000, the country's president said on Monday, putting the potential death toll much higher than current official figures.

Only 84 deaths have been confirmed so far in Mozambique as a result of Cyclone Idai, which has also left a trail of death and destruction across Zimbabwe and Malawi, with vast areas of land flooded, roads destroyed and communication wiped out.

Speaking on Radio Mocambique, President Filipe Nyusi said he had flown over the affected region, where two rivers overflowed. Villages had disappeared, he said, and bodies were floating in the water.

"Everything indicates that we can register more than 1,000 deaths," he said.

The cyclone has also killed 89 people in Zimbabwe, an official said on Monday, while the death toll in Malawi from heavy rains and flooding stood at 56 as of last week. No new numbers had been released after the cyclone hit the country.

Caroline Haga, a senior International Federation of the Red Cross official who is in Beira, one of the cities worst hit, said the situation could be far worse in the surrounding areas, which remained completely cut off by road and where houses were not as sturdy.</s>Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi says that more than 1,000 may have by killed by Cyclone Idai.

Speaking to state Radio Mozambique, Nyusi said Monday that although the official death count is currently 84, he believes the toll will be more than 1,000.

Nyusi spoke after flying over the port city of Beira and viewing the flooding and devastation. He said he saw bodies floating in the flooded areas.

The Red Cross said that 90 percent of Beira, a city of 500,000, had been damaged or destroyed.

Beira has been severely battered by the cyclone which cut off electricity, forced the airport to shut down and cut off road access to the rest of the country. Cyclone Idai first hit Beira last week and then moved inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi.</s>Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi says that more than 1,000 may have been killed by Cyclone Idai, which many say is the worst in more than 20 years.

Speaking to state Radio Mozambique, Nyusi said Monday that although the official death count is currently 84, he believes the toll will be more than 1,000.

"It appears that we can register more than 1000 deaths," said the PR, adding that more than 100,000 people are at risk of life.

"The waters of the Pungue and Buzi rivers overflowed, making whole villages disappear and isolating communities, and bodies are floating," said Nyusi. "It is a real disaster of great proportions."

Nyusi spoke after flying by helicopter over the central port city of Beira and the rural Manica and Sofala provinces in which he saw widespread flooding and devastation.

Other officials in emergency services cautioned that while they expect the death toll to rise significantly, they have no way of knowing if it will reach the president's estimate of 1,000.

The Red Cross said that 90 percent of Beira, a city of 500,000, had been damaged or destroyed.

Beira has been severely battered by the cyclone which cut off electricity, forced the airport to shut down and closed road access to the city, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Monday.

Cyclone Idai first hit Beira last week and then moved inland spreading heavy winds and rainfall to Zimbabwe and Malawi. More than 215 people have been killed by the storm according to official figures in the three countries, hundreds more are missing and more than 1.5 million people have been affected, according to the Red Cross and government officials.

The scale of the damage to Beira is "massive and horrifying," said Jamie LeSueur, who led a Red Cross aerial assessment of the city. The team had to view the city by helicopter because roads were flooded, he said.

"The situation is terrible. The scale of devastation is enormous. It seems that 90 percent of the area is completely destroyed," said LeSueur.

With Beira's airport closed, the team drove from Mozambique's capital Maputo before taking a helicopter for the last part of the journey because roads into Beira have been flooded.

While the physical impact of Idai is beginning to emerge, the human impact is unclear.

"Almost everything is destroyed. Communication lines have been completely cut and roads have been destroyed. Some affected communities are not accessible," said LeSueur.

"Beira has been severely battered. But we are also hearing that the situation outside the city could be even worse. Yesterday (Sunday), a large dam burst and cut off the last road to the city."

The storm hit Beira late Thursday and moved westward into Zimbabwe and Malawi, affecting thousands more, particularly in areas bordering Mozambique.

At least 126 people had died in Mozambique and Malawi, according to the Red Cross. In Zimbabwe, 89 people have died from the floods, the country's information ministry said Monday.

Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa both returned from foreign trips to attend to the emergencies caused by the storm.

Zimbabwe's president returned home from the United Arab Emirates "to make sure he is involved directly with the national response by way of relief to victims of Cyclone Idai," the information ministry said. The Zimbabwean government declared a state of national disaster.

U.N. agencies and the Red Cross are helping with rescue efforts that include delivering food supplies and medicines by helicopter in the impoverished countries.</s>JOHANNESBURG — Mozambique’s president says death toll for Cyclone Idai may be more than 1,000.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>MAPUTO/HARARE (Reuters) - The number of people killed in a powerful storm and preceding floods in Mozambique could exceed 1,000, the president said on Monday, putting the potential death toll greatly more than current figures.

Only 84 deaths have been confirmed so far in Mozambique as a result of Cyclone Idai, which has also left a trail of death and destruction across Zimbabwe and Malawi, with vast areas of land flooded, roads destroyed and communication wiped out.

Speaking on Radio Mocambique, President Filipe Nyusi said he had flown over the affected region, where two rivers had overflowed. Villages had disappeared, he said, and bodies were floating in the water.

"Everything indicates that we can register more than one thousand deaths," he said.

The cyclone has also killed 89 people in Zimbabwe, an official said on Monday, while the death toll in Malawi from heavy rains and flooding stood at 56 as of last week. No new numbers had been released following the cyclone's arrival in the country.

Caroline Haga, a senior International Federation of the Red Cross official who is in Beira, said the situation could be far worse in the surrounding areas, which remained completely cut off by road and where houses were not as sturdy.

Nyusi flew over areas that were otherwise accessible, and some of which had been hit by flooding before Cyclone Idai.

In Beira, Mozambique's fourth-largest city and home to 500,000 people, a large dam had burst, further complicating rescue efforts.

Large swathes of land were completely submerged, and in some streets people waded through knee-high water around piles of mangled metal and other debris.

In the early hours of Monday morning, rescuers launched dinghies onto chest-high waters, navigating through reeds and trees - where some people perched on branches to escape the water - to rescue those trapped by the flooding.

Meanwhile, rescuers were struggling to reach people in Zimbabwe's Chimanimani district, cut off from the rest of the country by torrential rains and winds of up to 170 km per hour that swept away roads, homes and bridges and knocked out power and communication lines.

Zimbabwean information ministry official Nick Mangwana told Reuters the number of confirmed deaths throughout the country was now 89. The body count is expected to rise.

Many people had been sleeping in the mountains since Friday, after their homes were flattened by rock falls and mudslides or washed away by torrential rains.

The Harare government has declared a state of disaster in areas affected by the storm. Zimbabwe, a country of 15 million people, was already suffering a severe drought that has wilted crops.

Beira, which sits at the mouth of the Pungwe River, is also home to Mozambique's second-largest port, serving as gateway for imports to landlocked countries in southeast Africa.

The director of a company that jointly manages the port, Cornelder, based in the Netherlands, said the port had been closed since last Wednesday but would hopefully resume operations on Tuesday.

Two cranes would be working and the company had two large generators and enough fuel for now, though damage to access routes and roads further inland was more likely to cause a problem, said the director, who asked not to be named.

The fuel pipeline running from Beira to Zimbabwe was believed to be intact, the person said, though communication was still very patchy and therefore the situation at the port remained uncertain.

In February 2000, Cyclone Eline hit Mozambique when it was already devastated by its worst floods in three decades. It killed 350 people and made 650,000 homeless across southern Africa, also hitting Zimbabwe.</s>JOHANNESBURG — The president of Mozambique said Monday that more than 1,000 people might have by killed by Cyclone Idai, which many say is the worst to hit the country in more than 20 years.

The country’s official death count as of Monday was 89, according to the information ministry, but President Filipe Nyusi, speaking on state Radio Mozambique, said he believed the toll would surpass 1,000.</s>Cyclone Idai may have killed 1,000 people in Mozambique, says country's president

Cyclone Idai may have killed 1,000 people in Mozambique, says country's president

Four days after Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique, there are fears it may have killed more than 1,000 people in the country.

It is thought to have been the most destructive storm to have hit the southeast African nation in more than 10 years.

Widespread flooding has left whole villages submerged and bodies were floating in the water, as some areas were completely cut off by road.

Mozambique's president Filipe Nyusi said the official number of dead was 84 but added "it appears that we can register more than 1,000 deaths".

He also said it was a "real disaster of great proportions".

"The waters of the Pungue and Buzi rivers overflowed, making whole villages disappear and isolating communities, and bodies are floating," he said.

President Nyusi spoke after flying over the central port city of Beira and the rural provinces of Manica and Sofala, where there was severe flooding.

According to the Red Cross, 90% of Beira, which has 500,000 inhabitants, has been damaged or destroyed.

Jamie LeSueur, who led a Red Cross aerial assessment of the city, said the damage was "massive and horrifying".

"The situation is terrible," he said. "The scale of devastation is enormous."

"Communication lines have been completely cut and roads have been destroyed. Some affected communities are not accessible."

Mozambique was hit last Thursday before the cyclone moved inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi.

More than 215 people have been killed by the storm in the three countries, including 89 in Zimbabwe, official figures show. And hundreds more were reported missing.

In Zimbabwe's Chimanimani district, rescuers were struggling to reach people cut off after torrential rains and winds up to 105mph swept away roads, homes and bridges and knocked out power lines.

UN agencies and the Red Cross have been helping with the rescue efforts that included delivering food and medicine by helicopter in the impoverished countries.

Mozambique is a long, narrow nation with a population of 30 million people, and has a 1,500-mile coastline along the Indian Ocean.

This time of year, it is prone to cyclones and tropical storms, and was struck by severe flooding from Cyclone Eline in February 2000.

That storm killed 350 people and made 650,000 homeless across southern Africa, including Zimbabwe.</s>In this photo taken on Friday, March 15, 2019 and provided by the International Red Cross, people carry their personal effects after Tropical Cyclone Idai, in Beira, Mozambique. Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi says that more than 1,000 may have by killed by Cyclone Idai, which many say is the worst in more than 20 years. Speaking to state Radio Mozambique, Nyusi said Monday, March 18 that although the official death count is currently 84, he believes the toll will be more than 1,000. (Denis Onyodi/IFRC via AP)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — More than 1,000 people were feared dead in Mozambique four days after a cyclone slammed into the country, submerging entire villages and leaving bodies floating in the floodwaters, the nation’s president said.

“It is a real disaster of great proportions,” President Filipe Nyusi said.

Cyclone Idai could prove to be the deadliest storm in generations to hit the impoverished southeast African country of 30 million people.

It struck Beira, an Indian Ocean port city of a half-million people, late Thursday and then moved inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi with strong winds and heavy rain. But it took days for the scope of the disaster to come into focus in Mozambique, which has a poor communication and transportation network and a corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy.

Speaking on state Radio Mozambique, Nyusi said that while the official death toll stood at 84, “It appears that we can register more than 1,000 deaths.”

U.N. agencies and the Red Cross helped rush emergency food and medicine by helicopter to the stricken countries.

Mount Chiluvo in central Mozambique was badly hit by flooding. One resident said he heard a loud noise, like an explosion, and suddenly saw a river of mud rolling toward his home.

“I was indoors with my children, but when we looked we saw mud coming down the road towards the houses and we fled,” Francisco Carlitos told Lusa, the Portuguese News Agency. The family lost their home and possessions but safely reached higher ground.

The country’s president, who cut short a visit to neighboring Swaziland over the weekend because of the disaster, spoke after flying by helicopter over Beira and two rural provinces, where he reported widespread devastation.

“The waters of the Pungue and Buzi rivers overflowed, making whole villages disappear and isolating communities, and bodies are floating,” Nyusi said.

Emergency officials cautioned that while they expect the death toll to rise significantly, they have no way of knowing if it will reach the president’s estimate.

The Red Cross said 90 percent of Beira was damaged or destroyed. The cyclone knocked out electricity, shut down the airport and cut off access to the city by road.

The destruction in Beira is “massive and horrifying,” said Jamie LeSueur, who led a Red Cross team that had to assess the damage by helicopter because of the flooded-out roads.

More than 215 people were killed by the storm in the three countries, including 89 in Zimbabwe, according to official figures. Hundreds more were reported missing.

Mozambique is a long, narrow country with a 2,400-kilometer (1,500-mile) coastline along the Indian Ocean. It is prone to cyclones and tropical storms this time of year.

In 2000, Mozambique was hit by severe flooding caused by weeks of heavy rain, a disaster made much worse when a cyclone hit. Approximately 700 people were killed in what was regarded as the worst flooding in 50 years.

Mozambique won independence from Portugal in 1975 and then was plagued by a long-running civil war that ended in 1992. Its economy is dominated by agriculture, and its exports include prawns, cotton, cashews, sugar, coconuts and tropical hardwood timber.

More recently it has been exporting aluminum and electric power, and deposits of natural gas were discovered in the country’s north.
President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi suggests the death toll of Cyclone Idai could reach over one thousand. The current official toll stands at 84.