Fears for cyclone-hit communities in Mozambique as aid flights remain grounded for third consecutive day.
Torrential rain continued to batter northern Mozambique on Tuesday, several days after Cyclone Kenneth, as the United Nations said aid workers faced “an incredibly difficult situation” in reaching thousands of survivors.
The rains grounded aid operations for a third consecutive day leaving some of the worst-hit communities cut off with very limited supplies.
A planned World Food Programme (WFP) flight to the island of Ibo was on standby until the weather improved, according to Deborah Nguyen, spokeswoman for the agency.
“We are really concerned about the situation for people on Ibo island,” she said, as they had been left out in the open after the majority of homes were destroyed, and with very limited food.
“For us, it’s a frustrating day … There is not much we can do to reach these islands now,” she said.
The government again urged residents of the main city of Pemba to flee to higher ground as flooding continued.
More than 570 millilitres has fallen in Pemba since Kenneth made landfall on Thursday, just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique.
This is the first time two cyclones have struck the southern African nation in a single season, and Kenneth was the first cyclone recorded so far north in Mozambique in the modern era of satellite imaging.
The latest storm has killed at least 41 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
Up to 50 millilitres of rain were forecast over the next 24 hours, and rivers in the region were expected to reach flood peak by Thursday, the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said, citing a UK aid analysis.
During a break in the downpours on Tuesday morning, some aid flights did manage to ferry supplies to the mainland district of Quissanga and the island of Matemo.
