ReutersCyclone Chido has killed 94 people in Mozambique since it made landfall Local authorities in the East African country said last week.
The country's National Institute for Risk and Disaster Management (INGD) said 768 people were injured and more than 622,000 people were affected by the natural disaster in some capacity.
Chido hit Mozambique on 15 December with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph) and 250 mm of rain in the first 24 hours.
The cyclone itself initially caused devastation in the French province of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, before moving to Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
In Mozambique, the storm hit the northern provinces, which are regularly exposed to cyclones. It first arrived in Cabo Delgado, then traveled inland to Niassa and Nampula.
The country's INGD said the cyclone affected the education and health sectors. More than 109,793 students were affected, and school infrastructure was severely damaged.
The institute said that about 52 health units were damaged, which increases the risk of access to basic health services. This is further exacerbated in areas where access to healthcare facilities was already limited before the hurricane.
Daniel Chapo, leader of Mozambique's ruling party, told local media that the government was mobilizing support at “all levels” in response to the cyclone.
Speaking during a visit to Cabo Delgado on Sunday, one of the worst-hit areas, Chapo said the government is working alongside the National Development Institute to ensure the reconstruction of those affected in the provinces of Makovi, Nampula, Memba and Niassa.
On the island of Mayotte, Chido was the worst hurricane to hit the archipelago in 90 years, leaving tens of thousands of people suffering from the disaster.
In its latest update, the Ministry of Interior confirmed that 35 people had been killed.
The governor of Mayotte previously told local media that the death toll could rise significantly once the damage is fully assessed, warning that it “will certainly be several hundred” and could reach thousands.
More than 1,300 officers were deployed to support local residents.
A week later, many residents still lack basic necessities, while running water is gradually returning to the regional capital. The Ministry advised people to boil water for three minutes before consuming it.
About 100 tons of equipment are being delivered daily, the ministry said, as an air bridge has been built between Mayotte, Reunion and mainland France.
Interior Minister Bruno Ritello said in a statement on Friday that 80 tons of food and 50 tons of water were distributed throughout Mayotte that day.
Tropical cyclones are characterized by very high wind speeds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges, which are short-term rises in sea level. This often causes widespread damage and flooding.
The hurricane “once again highlights the vulnerability of social infrastructure to climate change and the need for resilient planning to mitigate future impacts,” the institute said.
Assessing the precise impact of climate change on individual tropical cyclones can be difficult due to the complexity of these storm systems. But rising temperatures are affecting these storms in measurable ways.
The UN climate body, IPCC, said earlier There is “high confidence” that humans contributed to increased rainfall associated with tropical cyclones, and “moderate confidence” that humans contributed to an increase in the likelihood of increased tropical cyclone intensity.
