69 Deaths In Rainy Season So Far
Maputo, 17 Jan (AIM) – 69 people have died in the Mozambican 2022-2023 rainy season so far, according to a preliminary report from the National Disaster Management Institute (INGD), cited in Monday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”.
The Mozambican rainy season begins in October and continues until late March/early April of the following year.
The deaths were caused by lightning strikes, the collapse of walls during storms, drowning in flood waters, fires and electrocution.
47 people were injured in these events, and 2,721 houses were destroyed or damaged. A further 3,312 houses were flooded.
So far, no cyclones have hit Mozambique, but the National Meteorology Institute (INAM) has warned of the formation of a low pressure system off the coast of Madagascar, which could develop into a cyclone.
The Ministry of Health has warned of the possible spread of cholera. As of Monday, 1,376 cases of cholera had been diagnosed, mostly in the provinces bordering Malawi. 16 of these patients had died, which is a lethality rate of 1.2 per cent.
“All the provinces have a certain risk of cholera”, according to Domingos Guihole, of the Health Surveillance Department in the Ministry.
The worst hit province is Niassa, but the number of new cases in Niassa has fallen, from 20 on 12 January to 12 on Saturday. The other provinces where cholera has been diagnosed are Zambezia, Sofala and Gaza.
(AIM)
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