The death toll caused by tropical storm Chalane in central Mozambique has risen from four to seven, according to Mozambique’s National Calamities Management Institute (INGC).
The storm has passed through Madagascar and Zimbabwe.
The three new fatalities in Mozambique were recorded in Chimoio, the capital of Manica province capital, and were all caused by drowning.
The first four were in the provinces of Sofala and Manica where there was one death each, and in Zambézia where two people lost their lives.
The storm has left at least 10 people injured in Sofala, Manica and Zambézia, and several houses destroyed and a total of 36,000 people affected.
On Sunday, the country’s President Filipe Nyusi asked the public to abandon risky zones as the storm approached the country. His warning came after a meeting with INGC personnel.
The National Calamities Management Institute did earlier forecasted that four million people will be affected and more than 6,000 schools and 550 health facilities in risky zones damaged.
In March and April 2019, cyclone Idai, with its epicentre at the port of Beira, the country’s second-largest city, and cyclone Kenneth, hit Mozambique just few weeks apart.
Both cyclones are the worst natural disasters recorded in the country in the last two decades.
Hitting the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula, Cyclone Kenneth affected more than 400,000 people.
At least 1000 people died in Mozambique in 2019, due to the cyclones.
