Humanitarian organizations eager to help Mozambique's cyclone survivors

Humanitarian agencies rushed Tuesday to bring emergency relief to thousands of survivors stranded in two Mozambique islands after pbading one of the most powerful hurricanes in the history of the country. Africa in the north of the country.

Teams loaded with white helmets and green suits loaded dozens of cookie boxes and high – calorie drugs onto two large cargo helicopters carrying three tons each, one to the island of Japan. Ibo and the other in Quissanga.

"The priority is to provide badistance to Ibo as it has not yet been reached," said Deborah Nguyen, spokesperson for the World Food Program (WFP) on the tarmac from Pemba Airport, close to the big white Mil Mi-8 loading chopper.

Heavy rains delayed take-off, and strong winds in the area raised fears that aid would still be delayed.

The islands of Quissanga (50,000 inhabitants) and Ibo (13,000), located off the coast of Mozambique, have been devastated by extensive damage, according to relief agencies working in the region. By Emidio JOSINE (AFP)

But WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel told reporters in Geneva that the first flight took off for Quissanga with 2.88 metric tons of high-energy biscuits, a government food tinge and 100 kilograms of food products. health and sanitary products.

The islands of Quissanga (50,000 inhabitants) and Ibo (13,000), located off the coast of Mozambique, have suffered considerable damage, according to relief agencies working in the region.

More rain

Hurricane Kenneth killed at least 38 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Mozambique.

Hurricane Kenneth, one of the most violent that has ever hit Africa, has killed at least 38 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Mozambique. By EMIDIO JOZINE (AFP)

It swept roads, submerged fields and ruined buildings just weeks after Cyclone Idai, which devastated the Mozambican town of Beira, 1,000 kilometers to the south.

Kenneth made landfall Thursday night in Cabo Delgado province, hitting gusts of up to 220 km / h, hitting a region that has not seen a tropical cyclone since the satellite era.

New rains are expected in the coming days, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

More than 23,000 people became homeless after Kenneth's strike. By Emidio JOSINE (AFP)

Figures provided by Mozambican authorities to NGOs show that about 200,000 people in the city of Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado, are in danger.

The National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC) said 39 people had already been treated for injuries, more than 23,000 were homeless and nearly 35,000 homes had been totally or partially destroyed.

Before hitting Mozambique, the hurricane hit the Comoros, killing at least four people and damaging 75,000 homes, according to OCHA.