Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique and the country's President Filipe Nyusi feared that the death toll could rise to more than 1,000 people. The leader described the massive trail of destruction left by the cyclone as "real humanitarian disaster of large proportions."
Aside from the loss of lives, cyclone Idai nearly wiped out an entire city. 90 percent of the Mozambique city of Beira was destroyed by the natural disaster. This means that homes, public infrastructures, commercial buildings, roads, bridges, communication lines, and electric power have been either obliterated or rendered unusable, CNN reported.
"Waters from the rivers Pungue and Buzi have broken their banks, wiping out entire villages, isolating communities and we could see, as we flew above, bodies floating," the President Nyusi said via his address on national radio.
Jamie LeSueur, the spokesman of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) who is leading the assessment of the damage in Mozambique said that the situation in the affected area is terrible and the extent of the destruction is really enormous.
"Almost everything is destroyed. Communication lines have been completely cut, and roads have been destroyed, LeSueur said in a statement. "Some affected communities are not accessible."
Cyclone Idai landed on Beira Mozambique on Thursday midnight and it moved to neighbor Zimbabwe and some areas in Malawi. The initial assessment in loss of lives listed 150 people dead in the said three regions but the Red Cross and the president warned that the death toll will go up as more bodies are fished out from the flooded spots or under the collapsed buildings.
At any rate, Mthuli Ncube, finance minister and vice president of the African Development Bank, allotted $50 million funds so that the damages from the cyclone Idai hit areas could be repaired, ZIM Live reported.
He said that the funds will repair important infrastructures like roads and schools, and bring back power and water supply to the city.
"The ministry of finance has released $50 million for emergency and infrastructure restoration following Cyclone Idai-induced flood destruction and infrastructural damage, the minister said. "The funds will go towards Cyclone Idai rescue efforts and rehabilitation of affected citizens and restoration of rural feeder roads and other structures."
Finally, with their homes gone, many of the people have gone up to the mountains for temporary shelter. The government declared a state of disaster as the city tries to manage the outcome of the tragedy and rescuers still try to find survivors that may be trapped in some places.
