AP Explains: Why southern African cyclone is so shattering
Associated PressJOHANNESBURG — The lives of hundreds of thousands of people are at risk after a cyclone ripped into central Mozambique and heavy rains continue to fall. A massive storm surge when Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique over the weekend created what one World Food Program staffer calls “inland oceans extending for miles and miles in all directions.” The city of Beira with its some 500,000 residents is said to be 90 percent destroyed. Further deaths could occur if people clinging to hope are swept away by the rising waters or are not reached in time with critical water, food and other aid. Aid appeals for millions of dollars have begun as the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations rush to deliver food, water, fuel and medicines to the vast affected area. Zimbabwe’s president has said a number of countries, including the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Angola, also were offering aid.