VILANCULOS, Mozambique (February 23, 2007) - At least four people died and another 70 were wounded by Cyclone Favio, a Category 4 storm that hit Mozambique on Thursday. The cyclone made landfall at Vilanculos, 500 miles north of Mozambique's capital Maputo, tearing apart the homes of 8,000 families and partially damaging the municipal hospital. Inhambanebe Province, where Vilanculos is located, is one of the poorest provinces in Mozambique, one of the world's poorest countries.
CARE's emergency coordinator, Eduardo Telhano, who maintained contact by cell phone during the storm, described seeing the roofs ripped from five houses as he watched from a window. Electricity was cut off, trees uprooted and many roads were closed by debris. A CARE office and warehouse were damaged by Favio's winds, which reached 170 miles per hour. According to weather predictions, additional cyclones may strike southern African countries in the next few weeks.
After passing Vilanculos, the cyclone headed north towards the central Zambezi valley, where it is expected to exacerbate flooding that has already ravaged the area, displacing more than 120,000 people.
CARE has a long-standing involvement in Vilanculos and is conducting an assessment of the damage in coordination with the government, which has requested shelter materials, including tents and plastic sheeting, as well as cooking utensils and blankets. CARE projects focused on HIV and AIDS, water and sanitation, and food security have been put on hold so that staff can shift their attention to helping affected communities.
CARE has also been providing support in the flood-affected areas of Zambezia. It is expected to take months for the people affected by the floods to recover from their devastating effects. Donor support will be needed for economic recovery, schooling and other needs.
Mozambique has long been prone to cyclones, flooding, droughts and earthquakes. Favio is only the latest in a series of natural disasters coinciding with an unusually strong El Nino effect in the Pacific Ocean, including wide-spread flooding in Madagascar, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola. CARE, one of the world's leading humanitarian organizations, has been providing emergency relief in many of the areas affected by these disasters.
