Maputo, 27 Feb (AIM) – Tropical cyclone Freddy, which struck the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane on Friday, has affected over 57,000 people, according to the National Emergency Operational Centre (CENOE).
Maputo, 26 Fev (AIM) – A Tempestade Tropical “Freddy” que, desde a tarde de sexta-feira, está a devastar as regiões centro e sul de Moçambique já afectou mais de 57 mil pessoas anunciou, hoje, o Centro Nacional Operativo de Emergência (CENOE).
Giving a preliminary assessment of the damage caused by the cyclone, CENOE spokesperson Paulo Tomas said that 780 houses had been destroyed and a further 6,810 suffered damage.
He was speaking at a CENOE meeting in Xai-Xai, capital of the southern province of Gaza, which was drawing up an assessment of the current rainy season.
“There were also impacts on other sectors, such as education, roads and power supply”, added Tomas, “but we are still compiling data as we receive it from the provinces”.
He added that the Mozambican relief agency, the National Disaster Management Institute (INGD) is currently assisting 18,187 flood victim in government-run accommodation centres. The INGD is providing them with food, water, health care and sanitation.
Meanwhile, in the central province of Sofala, the publicly owned electricity company, EDM, announced on Sunday that 15,000 of its clients in the city of Beira, and in the southern part of the province, are without power because of damage to electrical infrastructure caused by the cyclone.
EDM brigades are on the ground repairing the damage. In Inhambane, all the transmission lines affected by the cyclone have been repaired, except for the line from Funhalouro to Ndidiza, where work is continuing. About 3,000 EDM clients are still without power in Inhambane.
The heavy rains associated with Freddy, and the preceding storms have caused serious damage to about 750 kilometres of the country’s road network, according to Public Works Minister Carlos Mesquita.
Drawing up a balance sheet on the damage, Mesquita said previously selected contractors have been positioned to work on repairs.
Of particular importance was the Beira-Zimbabwe road (National Highway No. Six – EN6), where traffic was interrupted due to a rise in the level of the Mulondo river in Sofala province.
“This was dealt with quickly”, sad Mesquita, “and circulation of traffic was restored less than 30 hours after the damage to the road was reported”.
Other roads where traffic was limited are the stretches from Mopeia to Luabo in Zambezia province, from Nacala-a-Velha to Memba and Moma, in Nampula, and from Malema in Nampula, to Cuamba, in Niassa.
Mesquita said that teams from the National Roads Administration (ANE), and various contractors with whom the ANE has agreements, are already working to ensure the resumption of normal flows of traffic along these roads.
(AIM)
Fg/pf (459)
