MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE — At least 34 people were killed and 43 injured when Cyclone Chido smashed into three northern provinces of Mozambique on Sunday and Monday. The head of the country’s disaster management agency says the numbers are preliminary, as rescue teams search through rubble. 

After visiting the affected areas late Monday, the chair of Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction, Luisa Meque, said around 2.5 million people were affected by the cyclone.  

Several districts in Cabo Delgado province, including the capital Pemba, were hit hard by the cyclone, and teams on the ground are reporting significant damage. 

The cyclone made landfall Sunday in Mecufi, a district in the province of Cabo Delgado, and destruction in the area was near total, with 100% of homes damaged and very few structures still standing.  

Canjar Amade told VOA via WhatsApp that he lived through the cyclone tearing apart his house. He said the wind took the sheets off during the night, and the house fell down Monday morning.

Meteorologist Acacio Tembe from the national weather agency said the provinces of Niassa and Cabo Delgado, as well as other parts of Mozambique, are still getting hit by remnants of the storm, including rains and strong winds.  

The system, which also hit Malawi and the island of Mayotte, is expected to dissipate near Zimbabwe by late Tuesday. 

Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by global climate change. During the rainy season, which runs from October to April, it experiences cyclical floods and tropical cyclones. 

Experts say with a potential La Nina effect in southern Africa in early 2025, the frequency and intensity of heavy rains and tropical cyclones is expected to increase in the Indian Ocean, with floods expected in areas currently affected by drought.
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