Sixteen people died in Mozambique and one in Madagascar after Cyclone Jude pivoted through the region last week, according to the latest European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) report.
More than 130 people were injured while four were recorded missing as of March 18.
ECHO estimates more than 10,500 people were displaced in Madagascar and almost 5,000 in Malawi. In all, at least 400,000 people were affected across the three hit African countries.
Cyclone Jude first made landfall in northern Madagascar on March 8, displacing thousands who had to stay in temporary shelters, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
After gaining strength as it moved westward over the Mozambique Channel, the cyclone made landfall in Mozambique’s coastal district Mossuril in Nampula province on March 10, bringing maximum sustained winds of 140 kph (about 87 mph) and gusts of up to 195 kph (121 mph), weather reports show. It also brought exceptionally heavy downpours as it hovered over Nampula, with rainfall exceeding 250 millimeters (9.8 inches) in 24 hours, causing flooding in the coastal districts.
Flights were canceled and delayed while 900 houses were destroyed in Mozambique, according to The Guardian. The World Food Programme also recorded the flooding of 49,593 hectares (122,547 acres) of cropland in Monapo, Nampula. Also in Nampula, a cholera outbreak was observed in Larde, OCHA wrote.
A UNICEF spokesperson told Bloomberg that the river basins and dams in Nampula were already full, which made the flooding worse. The news report said more than 400,000 people experienced power outages in Nampula.
Before the storm hit northern Mozambique, the U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund had released $6 million to prepare early warning messages, shelter supplies, hygiene and water treatment products, according to OCHA.
Between March 10 and 12, Cyclone Jude passed through Malawi, bringing heavy rainfall before moving back to Mozambique.
In total, OCHA reported that 70,000 houses, 247 schools, 72 health facilities, 48 water systems and 18 bridges, in addition to 73 km (45 mi) of electricity lines in Mozambique were either destroyed or partially damaged as of March 18.
The third cyclone to hit Mozambique in less than three months following Chido in December and Dikeledi in January, Cyclone Jude moved eastward and made landfall again in Madagascar on March 15, this time by its southern tip.
Schools were among the most impacted, as 89 classrooms were destroyed and 182 were partially damaged, leaving 48,000 students unable to attend class as of March 18, OCHA wrote.
OCHA said it is “the first time a strong weather system crossed the entire southern region” of Madagascar, leaving more than a thousand houses flooded, around 1,600 houses damaged and 1,160 destroyed. It added that the districts of Ampanihy, Bekily, Beloha and Tsihombe remain inaccessible, with the U.N. not being able to deliver assistance by land or by air.
Banner image of Cyclone Jude by NASA (Public Domain).
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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