Mozambique: Hurricane Kenneth rages over southeastern Africa and leaves 38 dead, authorities say



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According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, four people also died in the island of Comoros.

The hurricane, the strongest storm in the region since records began, hit Mozambique on Thursday.

Kenneth is the second powerful tropical storm to hit South East Africa in five weeks. Despite its power, hurricane Kenneth is slow, and experts are worried that it will continue to rain torrential rains over an area still reeling from the damage caused by Hurricane Idai.

The storm killed 750 people throughout southern Africa, forced thousands into camps in March, and caused damage estimated at $ 1 billion, or about 10 percent of Mozambique's GDP.

In the mall and the capital of Pemba province, locals said they hoped the worst would have happened after a weekend of heavy rains and floods since Cyclone Kenneth pbaded through the weekend. earth Thursday.

"The rain has stopped, at least for the moment, there is still water on the ground but the main roads of the city are now pbadable," resident Innocent Mushunje said.

Kevin Record, a hotelier based on the island of Ibo, said the region still had no electricity and was "awaiting the arrival of the cavalry".

Forecasters have said that northern Mozambique could receive up to 500 millimeters of rain over the next five days, which could exacerbate flooding.

"The soil is saturated with rain and the rivers are already swollen, so the emergency situation may worsen," said Michel Le Pechoux, deputy representative of UNICEF in Mozambique. "We are doing everything we can to put teams and supplies on the ground to ensure people's safety."

Save the Children said in a separate statement that the storm "has caused extensive damage, torn apart homes and wiped out whole communities," and warned that current conditions make it extremely difficult to provide badistance to people. people in need.

"We have great fears for the thousands of families who are currently settling in the rubble of their homes, who urgently need food, water and shelter to survive," he said. said Nicholas Finney, head of the Save the Children response team in Mozambique.

Residents stand Sunday on the edge of a road partially destroyed by floods after heavy rain in Pemba, a city in Mozambique.

Finney said the NGO had tried to reach some of the hardest-hit areas on Sunday, but that she had been forced to turn around because the rivers had overflowed and the roads were under water ".

"The flights and helicopters have also been stranded, which means that humanitarian access is virtually impossible – we are desperately trying to find ways to deliver emergency supplies," Finney said.

The United Nations Disaster Relief Agency is committed to unlocking $ 13 million to fund food aid, shelter, health care, water and facilities in the Comoros and Mozambique.

"The funds will help reduce the suffering of those affected, including mitigating the effects on food security of the destruction and loss of agricultural land, livestock and fisheries, as well as damage and destruction of homes", said Mark Lowbad, of the UN emergency relief coordinator.

The management of natural disasters in Mozambique announced last week that nearly 3,400 homes had been destroyed and more than 18,000 had been displaced by Kenneth.
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