Cyclone Gombe death toll rises to 53 in Mozambique


The toll of Cyclone Gombe, which hit Mozambique last week, has risen to 53 dead, we learned Thursday, March 17 from the authorities of the province of Nampula (north) where the destruction was concentrated.

The previous death toll stood at 22 in recent days but 31 bodies were found in Lunga in the Mossuril district on the Indian Ocean coast, an area still largely isolated due to roads cut off by the damage. The head of the province, Secretary of State Mety Gondola, reached this area by boat on Wednesday, citing a “dramatic situation”. “Unfortunately, we have identified 31 additional deaths,” he said in the evening on public radio. “The number of casualties could rise further as relief operations continue in the most affected districts,” he added.

Gombe, which struck on March 11, has already affected tens of thousands of Mozambicans, mainly in the country’s most populous province of Nampula and neighboring Zambezia. Thousands of houses were notably destroyed by this intense cyclone which had, fortunately, quickly lost power, explained the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management (INGD). Mozambique had already been hit hard in January by tropical storm Ana which killed around 100 people in this region of southern Africa.



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