Africa-Press – Mozambique. Tropical storm Ana has caused the death of at least 14 people in central and northern Mozambique, most of them swept away by rivers or trapped by collapsed houses, according to the latest figures from various authorities.
Three deaths were recorded in the northern province of Nampula, the first to be buffeted by the storm.
“Most of the deaths were caused by collapsed walls,” Alberto Armando, delegate of the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD) in Nampula told Lusa Wednesday.
In Tete province, six deaths were reported on Tuesday, with the rise in the flow of rivers in the districts of Macanga and Tsangano, according to the governor, Domingos Viola, in a provisional balance – and today the government announced the death of the administrator of Tete district, José Mandere.
In Zambezia province, two people were swept away by the Licungo river on Monday in Mocuba, and two more deaths were reported on Tuesday by INGD from Manica province, one of which was due to the collapse of a house wall.
Flooding has affected 20,671 people, causing 54 injuries and the total or partial destruction of 3,895 houses, six hospital units and 77 classrooms, affecting 2,266 pupils, according to the latest INGD data.
The Portuguese NGO Oikos, which works in the affected region, notes that there is great damage to subsistence agriculture, with more than 2,000 hectares of flooded fields.
“The main crops at this time are the main basis of food for peasant families, which means worsening hunger over the coming months,” the NGO notes.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has announced 140,041 Swiss francs (about 134,000 euros) of an emergency fund to prepare on the ground measures to support 20,000 people.
Mozambique is facing its cyclone season and tropical storm Ana – which has since lost strength and turned into a depression – was the first to hit the country.
