The worst cyclone in Mozambique’s history hit this past week and caused devastation in 4 countries simultaneously. Cyclone Idai made landfall with speeds of 170Km/h (some reports say 110mph) near the port city of Beira. With so many people in so many countries affected at once, this has been labelled as one of the worst climate disasters to hit the southern hemisphere in living memory. And it’s in my back yard having ripple effects on my entire country’s power supply.
At least 360 dead and 2.6 million people have been affected in the four affected southern nations of Africa. Homes, schools and medical centers have all been smashed and medical facilities have broken down. Floods have inundated swathes of farmland.
Worse than that, water supplies are damaged and apparently the only reservoir with drinking water has two days worth of supply left according to Medecins Sans Frontieres. People are resorting to drinking contaminated water as pipes leak and bodies lie strewn all over still. In the worst hit country, Mozambique, who bore the brunt of the storm as it hit the east coast of Africa, 217 have been confirmed dead and 15 000 still need rescuing. As bodies continue to be found the death toll is rising sharply.
About 90% of the infrastructure in the port city Beira has been destroyed. Rescue workers were cut off for days due to bridges being washed away, before being able to reach the town. Some towns are still cut off in Zimbabwe’s high lying region. There is no power and hospitals have run out of fuel. Latrines have been washed away and diseased are sure to take hold. This is already an area rife with Malaria. Without aid and even clean water the people are going to be devastated by coming summer conditions.
In Malawi 1 million people have been affected and 150 000 have sought shelter in camps without sufficient sanitation. At this rate the death toll could surpass 1000, according to the president of Mozambique. The second wave of devastation needs to be stopped which is the disease and starvation which is about to hit. Such natural disasters due to so-called climate change were predicted as temperatures change. Cyclones are starting to come further south than usual and therefore seldom before seen events may become more common. It’s either that or Geoengineering or the Grand Solar Minimum. All of which are fascinating and worthwhile investigating.
Meanwhile in my own country of South Africa, the entire nation’s electric grid is shut down every day for 5 hours, divided into two equal parts every day, one in the morning and one in the evening. This is partly due to the hydro-electric dams and systems in Mozambique the normally supply us being damaged by the cyclone. You can’t imagine the frustration, especially coming from a first world country, of having to stop your daily activity, productivity, work or whatever, for 2.5 hours at a time morning and evening. For me it’s not a problem with my solar panel and minimalist babaji lifestyle, but businesses are taking strain. This could increase the influx of climate refugees into South Africa to join the already thousands of economic migrants that come seeking work in the economic hub of the south part of the continent.
This disaster is going to take months to repair and may set the economies of all four countries back significantly, even into recession status. Schooling will be set back a year or more too and entire generations will be impaired in their futures, perhaps losing a valuable year of their lives. Rescue teams will continue going into disaster-hit areas this week to evacuate people to camps. Their entire homes and livelihoods have been washed away and they are the new addition to the biggest and fastest growing tribe on the planet today – the economic-, war- or climate-refugee.
Ref:
https://www.enca.com/news/cyclone-idai-survivors-risk-second-wave-loss-disease-threat
Pic: free unsplash
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