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According to Taylor, the bodies were located on a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) highway runway, where floodwaters had created an interior ocean, submerging entire villages around a sugar cane plantation. "densely populated" sugar. The region represents only a fraction of the land of the South African nation that was flooded after two major rivers overflowed their banks in the days following the storm.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said the destruction left by the hurricane was "worse than we imagined" and warned that humanitarian needs "will not be tragic. only in the coming weeks ".
In a statement, the IFRC said floods create ideal conditions for epidemics.
"Already, some cases of cholera have been reported in Beira, as well as an increasing number of malaria infections among people trapped by floods," reads the statement.
Floods are so extreme in Buzi, in central Mozambique, that water can be seen on satellite images of space.
About 200,000 people live in the area, and CNN has been keeping up with survivors arriving at Praia Nova by boat on Friday.
A man, Abias Felipe, had arrived from the flooded village of Chikezana after surviving the cyclone.
"It broke everything – there is nothing left over there," he told CNN, adding that rescue teams had started arriving in the area.
"They are starting to arrive but there are still many people trapped at home," said Felipe. "They say that there will be a lot more rain today and tomorrow."
On Friday, 700 Buzi survivors gathered at Escola Secundaria Samora Machel school in Beira after being rescued.
At a press conference in Beira, Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário said that the official number of people killed in Mozambique had risen to 293, adding that "we believe this figure will increase".
More than a week after the initial impact of the storm, the United Nations confirmed that 259 lives were lost in Zimbabwe and 56 in Malawi.
But the information has been slow to come out and communication with the affected areas remains limited. Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said Monday that "everything indicates that we can have a death toll of more than 1,000," figure some experts now believe may be conservative.
According to the IFRC, the morgue of the Beira Central Hospital "is full and dozens of bodies must be removed and treated with dignity". Beira is still flooded, making body burial impossible, the IFRC said.
It is premature to say how many people have died while the affected areas remain inaccessible, said Stephen Fonseca, regional forensic scientist at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
On Friday morning, the ICRC set up a new base at Chimoio, near the border with Zimbabwe. Fonseca said victim identification is "a monumental task" that will take months or years rather than days or weeks.
"The agony of not knowing what happened to your loved one in a disaster like Cyclone Idai is indescribable," said Diane Araujo, an ICRC delegate deployed in Beira, in a communicated.
According to Araujo, the IFRC will send staff to Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to help families who do not have telephone or internet access to find their missing relatives.
According to UNICEF, about 1.7 million people are affected by Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
"The situation on the ground remains critical," said Christophe Boulierac, spokesman for UNICEF in Geneva, describing the scene in Beira. There is neither electricity nor running water. "
Thousands of people gather in informal camps in desperate conditions, according to UNICEF representative Marco Luigi Corsi, who has visited the affected areas.
Witness account
Taylor, 62, who has been living in Mozambique for 10 years, stranded Saturday on the road from Zimbabwe to Beira, where cyclone Idai landed, after 1 meter high water blocked her.
Monday at 3 o'clock in the morning, he left his car and joined the waves of people wading in the dark in the waters along the elevated road.
In the dark, he could hear people crying and crying.
As dawn rose, those sobs began to make sense as a "terrible show" emerged, Taylor said.
"Corpses had floated (and) the floodwater had washed the bodies against the road," Taylor said. "The road had sagged about 25 inches, so these bodies were thrown against the highway."
Taylor said that the smell of bodies and livestock was palpable.
Hundreds of others were also trying to make the seven – hour crowded ride from the village of Lamego – about 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Beira inland – to Nhamatanda, on the heights. Where the The floodwater current was strong, about 50 people united to form a human chain, Taylor said.
"I am 187 cm (6 feet 2 inches) tall, but the strength of the water at the knee was powerful," Taylor said. "You had to be careful and concentrate where you put your feet."
Taylor said he saw an elderly woman carrying her husband on his back.
On the road to Beira, he said that "the whole area, to my knowledge, was a flood lake," adding that groups of about ten people had climbed eucalyptus, cashew, and mango trees ready to to be saved.
But he also saw people returning to the flooded area.
"They said that they could not account for their families and that they would not leave until they could do it," he said.
Biblical scenes
Idai landed in Mozambique at midnight on Thursday, March 14, with winds of 175 km / h,
It was not the most violent storm to hit Mozambique, but the region had recently been flooded by heavy rains. After lingering off for days off the coast, Idai finally dumped a huge amount of water in Beira, a town of 500,000 inhabitants, destroying "90%" of the area, according to humanitarian agencies.
A week later, thousands of people are still missing in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. According to reports, millions of other people were left without resources, food or basic services.
Filipe Chidumo, Mozambique's High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, said on Wednesday that the country needed "a sustained effort from the Mozambican government as well as the international community" to help rescue the stranded and to provide them with food, sanitation and water. people at risk.
"This is a great tragedy of biblical proportions," he said, adding that important work would be needed, including the restoration of electricity, water and electricity. sanitary facilities to prevent the occurrence of waterborne diseases, as well as the repair of public infrastructure.
& # 39; Soils have filled my mouth & # 39;
After hitting Mozambique, Cyclone Idai slaughtered Zimbabwe, killing many people while they slept.
The husband of one of Chimanimani's residents, 83, was buried alive when their room collapsed last Friday.
"We were sleeping in the house around 10 pm and it was raining and it continued to rain when rocks slipping down the hill started to hit our house," said the 59-year-old.
"The stones on which we built our house collapsed, and then I shouted," Oh, I'm going to die! "The earth, the mouth, the nose and the ears had filled me with water." The house was pretty close to the neck … I started to shake my husband's body but he was already dead. "
Nearby, another family had abandoned the search for their missing son, aged 16, who is believed to be buried under the mud.
Efforts to help those affected by Hurricane Idai are underway in Zimbabwe. The government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa transports food by air to some of the areas where people are still trapped.
Mnangagwa declared March 23 and 24 of national mourning.
"I want shelter, I do not have any," said a resident of Chimanimani. "I do not have blankets, no pots, my plates, my couches have all been destroyed … I do not know if I will survive or not."
Anna Cardovillis was reported in Beira, Mozambique and Columbus Mavhunga, Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. Jenni Marsh has written from Hong Kong and Jack Guy from London. Farai Sevenzo also contributed to this report.
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