"We're going to have to wait until the flood waters recede until we know the full expanse of the toll on the people of Mozambique," OCHA co-ordinator Sebastian Rhodes Stampa said.<doc-sep>BY Xolisani Ncube THE death toll from the Eastern Highlands floods has skyrocketed after a whole village, police station and government complex at Rusitu in Chimanimani were swept away as hundreds of people remain unaccounted for, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said yesterday. Rescue workers continue searching for survivors one week after Cyclone Idai ripped through the southern Africa countries of Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, leaving many dead and property destroyed. Addressing a Press briefing at State House last night, Mnangagwa declared two days of national mourning starting tomorrow in respect of those who perished in the disaster. “As we now know, we have lost many citizens, with the human toll set to reach several hundreds,” he said. While visiting the worst affected areas in Chimanimani and Chipinge on Wednesday, Mnangagwa was greeted by horrific accounts of “many who continue to grieve the loss of loved ones, and are living in the hope of recovering their remains”. “In Rusitu, I saw with unmitigated disrepair big boulders recklessly strewn on what used to be a resettlement, a banana market and even a police post. In respect of the latter, both the serving officer and prisoner were washed away alongside other government structure and private residences. The resettlement was completely washed away and the remains of the occupants unaccounted for to this day,” he said. Mnangagwa said from tomorrow, citizens will take time to remember the victims of the cyclone. “We expect all citizens, both individually and collectively, and in different ways which are informed by their faiths, beliefs and cultures to remember our entire dear departed by way of prayers and in whatever other forms and practices,” he stated. Chimanimani district and some parts of Chipinge, near the border with Mozambique, bore the brunt of Cyclone Idai and have been cut off from the rest of the country, with rescue teams still battling to reach some marooned people. Mnangagwa said while the search for the missing people continues, his administration would focus on recovering and decently burying any bodies or remains still outstanding. He said government would ensure adequate food relief to affected families and communities between now and the next harvest and provide free medical services to those affected by the cyclone. Government will also provide temporary shelter to victims of the cyclone and safe clean water. Do you have a coronavirus story? You can email us on: news@alphamedia.co.zw<doc-sep>BY BLESSED MHLANGA The death toll from Cyclone Idai rose to 98, while 217 people were confirmed missing as relief efforts intensified yesterday after the weather abated with officials trying to ascertain the devastation that has created a humanitarian crisis and left a trail of destruction. Information ministry said 102 people were injured while 42 are marooned. He said most infrastructure, including roads and bridges had been washed away in Chimanimani, but the army had cleared some roads allowing aid to reach victims. Rains have also dissipated enough to allow the army and other well-wishers to deploy helicopters for air rescue although large parts remained inaccessible by road. The ministry said President Emmerson Mnangagwa was making plans to visit Manicaland today while the leader of the opposition MDC Nelson Chamisa toured some of the affected areas yesterday and made donations of blankets, food and clothing which he said were from the members of his party. The scale of destruction will become clearer as relief workers make their way into the most affected areas. Chimanimani district, which is near the border with Mozambique and bore the brunt of the cyclone, has been cut off from the rest of the country. Torrential rains and winds whose speed topped 170km per hour knocked down power and communication lines and swept away roads and bridges in the mountanious region while Chipinge and parts of Masvingo were also devastated. Mnangagwa, who cut short his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the weekend to deal with the disaster, described the devastation as the worst in the history of the country and that its effects will be felt for a long time. “The human toll has been horrendous, far exceeding what we have seen or experienced before in our history as a nation,” he said yesterday. “We know others were killed in their sleep from swift and unexpected rock falls which demolished their homes and other forms of institutional shelter, still others met their tragic fate from overwhelming landslides which suffocated, before swiftly burying them under. We believe to this day many still lie unrecovered beneath mounds of debris that hit them with such overwhelming fury in their sleep that they stood no chance.” Mnangagwa said he would be going to Manicaland to lead relief efforts already underway. “No efforts or resources will be spared to reach all those in distress, any extra life lost is one too many. I shall be leaving for Manicaland tomorrow (today) to acquaint myself with and personally lend weight to rescue efforts already underway,” he said. The President said the UAE had since dispatched aid and appealed to the international community to join relief efforts. On his part, Chamisa told NewsDay that he had been met with decaying bodies, families trapped on islands and mountain tops with no access to help or aid. “What we have seen here is heart-breaking, bodies are decomposing because relatives are either unaware that their relatives are dead in and some cases they are cut off from where the deceased are,” Chamisa said from Nyanyadzi Hospital in Chimanimani. “We are appealing to the international community to come to the aid of our people, most of them have no homes to go back to, their homes have been washed away, some are still trapped on islands and our reaction as the State is very slow and, painfully, could be leading to the loss of more lives, we need help.” Chamisa said the State had been caught napping and had failed to prevent the calamity. “We have been caught napping and this just exposed how behind we are in quick response. People could have been evacuated, but instead they were told to close their doors. Some were swept away in their sleep and sad stories of children who were retrieved hanging from trees on the river bed,” he said. Mozambique’s President Felipe Nyusi said on national radio that the number of people killed in the storms and floods caused by the cyclone in the country could exceed 1 000. Villages had disappeared and bodies were floating in the water, he said in a report by Reuters. “Everything indicates that we can register more than one thousand deaths,” he said. The Red Cross described the damage on Beira, which felt the first impact of the cyclone, as horrifying. “The scale of damage caused by Cyclone Idai that hit the Mozambican city of Beira is massive and horrifying,” the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a statement yesterday. In a related development, Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) said its supply stations have been affected by flooding. The stations have either lost power or their pumping equipment flooded and that it was unable to provide water to people serviced by the affected water supply stations. “Stations that have been affected are mostly in the Save Catchment, which covers mostly Manicaland, and Runde Catchment which mostly covers Masvingo,” Zinwa said in a statement. “Stations that stand affected in Save Catchment are Murambinda, Checheche, Birchenough Bridge, Nyanyadzi, Chakohwa, Chibuwe, Matendeudze, Biriwiri, Murambinda, Buhera, Nyanga, Tanganda, Zimunya and Mutasa.” “Also affected are Gutu, Zaka, Mutimurefu and Ngundu Water Supply stations in Runde Catchment.” The water authority said it shall be providing potable water to the areas using tanks and water bowsers until normal service was restored. Meanwhile, the United Nations, in statement by Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the secretary-general said it was ready to work with Zimbabwean authorities in response to the humanitarian disaster. “The United Nations expresses its solidarity with the Zimbabwe authorities and stands ready to work with them as they respond to the humanitarian needs resulting from this disaster,” the statement read. Local organisation, Green Building Council of Zimbabwe yesterday urged the corporate world to assist affected families. “In the wake of the disaster, we want to exhort corporates, especially mining companies to support the communities that have lost their loved ones and homes. As Green Building Council of Zimbabwe, we are co-ordinating the relief effort on behalf of mining companies and other corporates and would like to appeal to the entities to extend a helping hand,” Memory Mugova, Green Building Council of Zimbabwe general-secretary said in a statement. Do you have a coronavirus story? You can email us on: news@alphamedia.co.zw<doc-sep>
The death toll in Mozambique after a cyclone tore through southern Africa and triggered devastating floods has jumped to 417, and the situation remains critical. The storm has also killed 259 in Zimbabwe, and that number was expected to rise, relief agencies said. In Malawi, 56 people died in heavy rains before the onset of Idai. That puts the total death toll at more than 700. The disaster is so widespread it can now be seen from space. A photo by the European Space Agency shows the flooding covering a wide area in the vicinity of the Buzi River in Mozambique. Cyclone Idai lashed the Mozambican port city of Beira with winds of up to 170km/h last week, then moved inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi, flattening buildings and putting the lives of millions at risk. In horror scenes, witnesses have described the sight of “300 to 400” bodies washed up on a highway in Mozambique as aid agencies scrambled to help survivors of a tragedy of “biblical proportions” visible from space. “The situation is getting better, still critical, but it’s getting better,” Land and Environment Minister Celso Correia said on Saturday, adding that it was becoming easier to work on the ground. “But unfortunately the number of dead is increasing, we have now 417 people [in Mozambique] who have lost their lives.” The storm’s rains caused the Buzi and Pungwe rivers to burst their banks. United Nations Office for the co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday that the Buzi and Zambezi rivers were at risk of breaking their banks again. “We’re going to have to wait until the flood waters recede until we know the full expanse of the toll on the people of Mozambique,” OCHA co-ordinator Sebastian Rhodes Stampa said. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Friday that cases of cholera have been reported in Beira, a port city of 500,000 people. Both Correia and Rhodes Stampa said that cholera and other waterborne diseases were not yet a problem, though floodwaters were dirty and the risk of disease spreading was high. Cholera is spread by faeces in sewage contaminating water or food, and outbreaks can develop quickly in a humanitarian crisis where sanitation systems are disrupted. It can kill within hours if left untreated. To help the crisis in southern Africa, donate to Doctors Without Borders, which has teams on the ground in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique, The International Rescue Committee, which has deployed medical staff and supplies to a mobile clinic in Zimbabwe, or Save The Children, which has delivered 56 tonnes of aid to Mozambique.