麻豆传媒

AS MANY as 1.7 million people may be affected after Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, in what a UN spokesperson says is shaping up to be the worst weather-related disaster on record in the southern hemisphere.

According to president Filipe Nyusi, at least 1000 people may have been killed by the cyclone. The country鈥檚 government says 100,000 people urgently need to be rescued.

鈥淭he scale of damage caused by Cyclone Idai that hit the Mozambican city of Beira is massive and horrifying,鈥� the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement on 18 March.

Beira, a port, was hit by the category-two storm late on 14 March, with winds of about 175 kilometres per hour. Rivers burst their banks, killing people and flooding nearby areas. The IFRC estimates that 90 per cent of the area has been damaged. As many as 1500 people may have been injured.

鈥淐ommunication lines have been completely cut and roads have been destroyed. Some affected communities are not accessible,鈥� said Jamie LeSueur of the IFRC assessment team in a statement.

鈥淏eira has been severely battered. But we are also hearing that the situation outside the city could be even worse,鈥� he said. 鈥淵esterday, a large dam burst and cut off the last road to the city.鈥�

While it was still categorised as a storm, Idai crossed Mozambique into Malawi, then went back out to sea. It made landfall again at Beira, upgraded to a cyclone, and swept inland to Zimbabwe, where it is reported to have killed 350 more people.