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Mozambique: Rescued cyclone victims fear for those left behind

At a Beira city shelter, survivors say many more of their family members are waiting for rescue in remote areas.

According to authorities, thousands remain stranded ''in very bad shape'' on roofs and trees in hard-hit Mozambique. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
The cyclone's torrential rains caused the Buzi River and the Pungue River, whose mouths are in the Beira area, to flood their banks. The scale of the flooding is huge, with floodwaters covering 2,165sq km, according to the UN. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
By Joost Bastmeijer
Published On 26 Mar 2019

Beira, Mozambique– They waited for rescue for days, clinging on to trees and rooftops, after a powerful cyclone tore through Mozambique and triggered flash floods in what the UN has called “one of the worst weather-related catastrophes in the history of Africa”.

Many said they survived by drinking boiled water.

When rescue workers arrived in boats and helicopters, most had nothing more than the clothes on their backs, and their feet were swollen from days of waiting in water.

Hundreds were taken to the Escola Secundaria Samora Machel in the city of Beira.

Aid agencies are providing survivors with a bucket of drinking water and a large pot of rice, but other basics are still lacking. Some are relieved just to be alive, but said they fear for those left-behind.

“I’m happy that at least some family members have been rescued,” said Otilla Sacur. “But most of them are still [in the flooded areas]. That makes me very sad.”

Cyclone Idai, which also hit Zimbabwe and Malawi, killed more than 700 people and washed away entire villages in the affected-region.

In Mozambique, thousands are still waiting to be rescued, aid workers said, while the United Nations some 1.85 million people need urgent help. 

“At least one million children need urgent assistance and this number may well grow. We fear that whole villages have been washed away in places we have yet to reach,” Antonio Guterres, the UN chief, told reporters on Tuesday. 

According to UN estimates, at least 400,000 people could be displaced across the country.
According to UN estimates, the cyclone has left some 1.85 million people in need of assistance. At least 400,000 could be displaced. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
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The gym in Escola Secundária Samora Machel is now a shelter for those displaced by the destruction left behind.
The gym in Escola Secundária Samora Machel is now a shelter for those displaced by the destruction left behind. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
Otilia Sacur (blue-yellow head wrap) and her family are resting on the gym’s wooden floor. “I’m happy that at least some family members have been rescued,” Otilia says, “but most of them are still [in
Otilia Sacur and her family are resting on the gym’s wooden floor. “I’m happy that at least some family members have been rescued,” says Otilia, who is pictured wearing a yellow head wrap. "But most of them are still [in the flooded areas]. That makes me very sad”. She had to leave her 9 year old son, her father, brother and sister behind. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
''We had counted 15,000 people that still need rescue'' said Mozambique''s land and environment minister Celso Correia, ''15,000 people who are in bad shape. They are alive, we are communicating with the
At least one million children need urgent assistance in Mozambique, said the UN. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
Cyclone Idai hit Beira, home to around half a million people, with winds of up to 170 kilometres per hour.
Cyclone Idai hit Beira, home to around half a million people, with winds of up to 170 kilometres per hour. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
Most people in the school come from the Buzi area, which can only be reached by boats and helicopters - roads have been washed away.
Most people in the school come from the Buzi area, which can only be reached by boats and helicopters as floodwaters have washed away roads to the region. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
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Joaquim João Mare and Rita Poga saw their home being destroyed by the hard cyclone winds. After that, the water came from the flooded rivers. They climbed in a mango tree to stay safe, until they were
Joaquim Joao Mare and Rita Poga said their home was destroyed by strong cyclone winds and floodwaters. They had to climb a mango tree to stay safe. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
The World Food Programme (WFP) said 200,000 Zimbabweans would need urgent food aid for three months.
Most survivors of Idai carried nothing more than the clothes they wore when they were rescued. Some people managed to save some kitchen utensils, as well as their animals. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
Twenty-eight year old Isabel Daniel and her children were stuck on a roof until they were rescued. Together with 300 others, they survived by boiling water.
Twenty-eight year old Isabel Daniel and her children were stuck on a roof for days before they were rescued. Together with 300 others, they survived by drinking boiled water. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
In the courtyard of this school, children boil tin cans of rain water on charcoal. Other children are drinking from puddles with spoons.
In the courtyard of this school, some children boiled cans of rain water on charcoal, as others used spoons to drink water from puddles. [Joost Bastmeijer/Al Jazeera]
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