Moz cyclone death toll rises

2007-02-24 22:45

Johannesburg - A cyclone that hit Mozambique only days after disastrous floods, left at least 10 people dead and 70 injured in the east of the country, a Red Cross official said on Saturday.

Cyclone Favio flattened most of the worst-hit town, Vilankulo in coastal Inhambane province, 800km northeast of the capital Maputo on Thursday.

"There are three dead in Vilankulo hospital," Hanna Schmuck of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Mozambique, told AFP.

"There is also one dead at Govuro, two at Inhassoro, two at Machanga, one at Beira and one in Buzi," she added, referring to places along the coast.

Many roofs had blown off and the government had provided tents for more than 40 000 people affected, but many had preferred to stay and try to rebuild their homes for fear of looting, Schmuck said.

SA aid

Also Saturday the South African government said it was sending aid to its neighbour in the wake of the cyclone, which packed winds of up to 180km/h.

"The immediate needs for humanitarian assistance include helicopters, tents for displaced people who are now living in temporary accommodation centres, roof sheeting for the reconstruction of homes, water treatment plants for the accommodation and resettlement centres," the foreign ministry said.

"We are ready to provide the material assistance required by the government of Mozambique.

"These include the provision of the helicopters to transport food to the temporary accommodation centres," a statement added.

The cyclone added to the strain on emergency workers already helping victims of recent flooding that left 80 000 people living alongside the Zambezi River homeless and about 30 dead.

- AFP