The death toll from Cyclone Chido has risen to 94 in Mozambique, the country’s disaster management agency said on Sunday. The storm caused widespread devastation with Mayotte, a French overseas territory, bearing the brunt of the impact.
While officials in Mayotte have confirmed 35 fatalities, authorities fear that the number could rise, with some speculating that thousands may have been killed.
Olamide Harrison, the International Monetary Fund’s Mozambique resident representative, said on Wednesday that the country’s 2024 economic growth is likely to be revised down from a previous forecast of 4.3% due to the impact of the cyclone and post-election civil unrest.
In October, Daniel Chapo, the candidate of Mozambique’s ruling party Frelimo, was declared winner of the presidential election.
‘Our brothers need them’ –
Chapo – who is due to be sworn in as president on January 15 if the Constitutional Council approves the election results by Monday – appealed on public television for citizens across the country to donate food and clothes.
“Even if we are using them, our brothers need them,” he urged.
The protests against Frelimo’s declared win have brought city centres to a standstill, with several of Mozambique’s power plants shuttered as a result.
Police have been accused of using live rounds against demonstrators to suppress the protests.
Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane has threatened “chaos” if the Constitutional Council validates the initial results that found he came second in the October 9 polls.
For the time being, Mozambique remains the country with the heaviest death toll from Chido.
Seven days after the cyclone hit Mayotte, 35 people were reported dead and some 2,500 injured on that archipelago by the French Interior Ministry.
But it is feared the toll may rise sharply given the scores of undocumented migrants from the nearby Comoros islands, who tend to inhabit Mayotte’s many shantytowns flattened by the storm.
The Comoros – which also claims sovereignty over Mayotte – declared a day of national mourning over Cyclone Chido’s passage, despite having not recorded any deaths on its territory.
After sweeping over Mozambique, the cyclone moved into Malawi.
Despite losing intensity it killed 13 people and injured nearly 30 there, according to the Malawian disaster management agency.
The storm hit as Malawi and Mozambique were grappling with one of the worst droughts to hit southern Africa in a century, according to the United Nations.
With agencies’ inputs.
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Cyclone Chido: Mozambique's death toll rises to 94, Mayotte braced for more casualties – Firstpost
