Voice of America
22 Mar 2019, 04:06 GMT+10
The Red Cross says it its deploying two major emergency response units to the port city of Beira in Mozambique to provide services for thousands of people affected by last week's Cyclone Idai, one of the most destructive storms to hit southern Africa in decades.
One unit is expected to provide basic sanitation facilities for up to 20,000 people, while the other is expected to produce as much as 225,000 liters of clean water each day enough to help 15,000 people struggling to survive the massive flooding that has followed the storm.
Jamie LeSueur, head of Red Cross operations in Mozambique, said in a statement that aid workers are most concerned about preventing the spread of waterborne disease. She said the emergency response deliveries will help protect against that.
'More help is needed, and we are continuing to do all we can to bring in more resources and reach more people,' she said.
Helicopters are conducting food drops over villages that were destroyed and cut off from the outside world after the cyclone hit Mozambique's port city of Beira, then swept inland to neighboring Zimbabwe and Malawi. Aid officials say an untold number of survivors are clinging to tree tops or are trapped on rooftops of houses that remain submerged by flood waters.
Idai carried sustained winds of up to 170 kilometers an hour, making it one of the most destructive storms to strike southern Africa in decades.
The combined death toll in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi has risen to more than 300 people, a number which is expected to climb as the flood waters recede and search crews finally enter the damaged areas. President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique has said he expects the death toll to exceed 1,000 in his nation alone. Mozambique began three days of official mourning Wednesday.
Aid agencies said they prepared for the cyclone but not the massive floods that followed. Mozambique was hardest hit as a result of rivers flowing downstream from its neighbors.
The U.N. World Food Program said it was transporting enough aid for 600,000 people across the three nations. The U.N. said it has allocated $20 million from its central emergency response fund and urged other donors to contribute. The European Union announced an initial aid package for the storm-stricken countries valued at nearly $4 million. Britain and the United Arab Emirates have also promised aid.
The U.S. State Department said the United States is supporting relief efforts 'in coordination with our partners.'
Get a daily dose of Europe Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Europe Sun.
More InformationTOKYO, Japan: To counter the declining national birthrate, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to double spending over the next ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Reuters has reported that on 7th June, former Vice President Mike Pence will enter the race for the ...
PYONGYANG, North Korea: North Korea attempt failed to launch a satellite on May 31, which prompted raid sirens and a ...
HONG KONG, China: Describing the lack of women in China's top leadership as concerning, the United Nations has recommended the ...
BEIJING, China: Amid its rivalry with the US for reaching new milestones in space, reflecting their competition for global influence, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) report released this week revealed that over the Memorial Day weekend, the start ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Pentagon said this week that the satellite communications service started by billionaire Elon Musk, SpaceX's Starlink, has ...
CHARLESTON, South Carolina: During a media tour this week at Boeing's facilities in Charleston, South Carolina, company CEO Dave Calhoun ...
MENLO PARK, California: Facebook parent company Meta Platforms has said it would remove news content in California if the state ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: EU tech chief Margrethe Vestager has said that a draft code of conduct on artificial intelligence (AI) could ...
MOSCOW, Russia: After a turbulent 15 months of store closures and declining demand, Russian designers and brands are assisting the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has said that more than 8.3 million US homes and businesses do not ...