No safety nets in wake of devastating cyclone

Zimbabwe has endured many crises but this is the worst natural disaster to ever hit the region and it will take years to rebuild homes and lives, says Sarah McCan.

Here in Masvingo, in eastern Zimbabwe, I’ve witnessed first-hand the devastation of cyclone Idai, which hit southern Africa.

I’ve seen houses with roofs caved in, walls that have collapsed and fields of crops devastated. I visited a family whose two children were injured because their roof collapsed at 3am on Saturday night due to the force of the winds. The impact is enormous here.

The cyclone has had a huge impact on 2.5m people in the region, in Mozambique and Malawi and here in Zimbabwe where I am based. This country is affected by many crises but it has never been hit by a cyclone of this magnitude before.

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People had no idea how bad this was going to be. Winds of 170km an hour and torrential rainfall literally destroyed homes and property and washed away crops and animals.

Eastern Zimbabwe has been devastated with mudslides, landslides and rockfalls. Roads have been completely washed away, and over 15,000 people have been affected in this part of the country.

Houses have been ruined and destroyed, crops washed away and people have been killed. The death toll in Zimbabwe is estimated to be between 100-200, but it is likely to rise. There’s still several hundred people missing or unaccounted for.

It’s had a huge and devastating impact, and for Zimbabwe this is particularly awful is that this is coming on top of a drought in other parts of the country. The bitter irony is that these people were praying for rain until fairly recently.

The cyclone hit one of the poorest areas of the country, and we’re seeing a high death toll because people were living in areas that were on the sides of mountains and near rivers that are prone to flooding. When the cyclone came, their houses were literally washed away; they didn’t have buildings that would withstand strong winds. It is always the poorest of the poor who are the most affected in these situations.

The political strife over the last number of years in Zimbabwe had already taken its toll and the country has been experiencing an economic crisis. People don’t have safety nets here.

It’s not like in Ireland where there is social welfare for those most in need. People are relying on their neighbours and friends, and relying really on aid agencies like Trócaire and our local partners.

Trócaire has been in Zimbabwe since the 1970s, working with communities facing poverty and injustice. We are here responding on the ground with local partners, who are amazing because they’re really at the coalface.

They’re providing shelter which is one of the most immediate needs for those who have lost their houses. They are also providing food, clothing and clean water because people are at risk of drinking contaminated water, which can lead to cholera and diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases.

We really need to first of all help the people to get over the initial impact, but then help them resettle, rebuild their homes and rebuild their livelihoods. That is going to take time.

At the moment the crisis is getting a lot of attention but in six months’ time people may have forgotten about the cyclone. It’s really going to take a long-term effort to help people rebuild their lives

Having lived in Zimbabwe for three years, I have seen increasingly severe and unpredictable weather patterns. We had a drought here in 2016, and we know 5.3 million people are going to go hungry again this year. This cyclone has been the worst natural disaster that has ever hit the region.

The frequency and severity of extreme weather events is increasing, and many experts are putting that down to climate change. It is worsening and it’s affecting those who are least responsible for its cause.

So we all have a responsibility to do what we can to limit climate change to try and prevent devastating events like this cyclone happening again in the future.

Sarah McCan is Trócaire country director for Zimbabwe.To donate visit trocaire.org or phone [phone] (RoI) or 1800 912 1200 (NI).

Disaster on par with Syria and Yemen

The United Nations World Food Programme raised the crisis classification for Mozambique’s flooding after it was struck by Tropical Cyclone Idai to its highest level, which it said put the disaster on par with Syria and Yemen.

“The designation will accelerate the massive operational scale-up now underway to assist victims,” the WFP said in a statement.

“To date, more than 20,000 people have received WFP food assistance.” A million people have been affected by flooding in the wake of Idai that ripped through the region a week ago and 446 have been confirmed dead in Mozambique, Celso Correia, spokesman for the government’s emergency response team, told reporters yesterday.

From March 14, Idai caused floodwaters to submerge hundreds of square miles of central Mozambique as rescuers used helicopters and boats to save people stranded in trees and on rooftops.

The Mozambican government has officially asked for international assistance. Beira, the port city home to more than 500,000 people that bore the brunt of the cyclone, has been cut off by road, causing shortages of food and water.

Satellite imagery shows numerous floodplains, including an “inland ocean” that is the size of Luxembourg, the WFP said.

While almost 110,000 people have been saved, according to the National Institute of Disaster Management, at least 600,000 people have been displaced, the WFP said.

“The situation will get worse before it gets better,” Henrietta Fore, an executive director of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund said. “Aid agencies are barely beginning to see the scale of the damage. While the search and rescue operations continue, it is critical that we take all necessary measures to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases which can turn this disaster into a major catastrophe.” Flooding, combined with overcrowded conditions in shelters, poor hygiene, stagnant water and infected water sources, is putting survivors at risk of diseases like cholera, malaria and diarrhoea, according to Unicef.

“In Beira city, food prices have reportedly risen by about 300%, with long queues observed for staples such as bread and fuel,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

“The city remains without electricity, while telephone and internet communication is intermittent.” The United Nations World Food Programme raised the crisis classification for Mozambique’s flooding after it was struck by Tropical Cyclone Idai to its highest level, which it said put the disaster on par with Syria and Yemen.