The United Nations will grant Mozambique and the Comoros Islands $13 million in emergency funds to help provide food and water and repair damage left behind from Cyclone Kenneth.
Cyclone Kenneth crashed into the northern province of the southern African nation on Thursday just as it was recovering from Cyclone Idai that hit further south last month.
Idai, the worst tropical storm to hit the region in decades, moved into neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi, killing more than 1,000 people.
Weather experts are warning that Kenneth could dump twice as much rain on northern Mozambique as Idai did. It has already killed five people as it unleashed heavy rains and flooding that has seen rivers burst their banks and smash whole villages.
Cyclone Kenneth hit the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado late on Thursday, flattening entire villages with winds of up to 280 kph (174 mph).
The World Bank estimates Mozambique and other countries affected by the tropical storm will need over $2 billion to recover.
Michel Le Pechoux, UNICEF deputy representative in Mozambique, said the organisation was “deeply worried” that communities in Cabo Delgado – which has no history of cyclones -would not have been prepared for the scale of the storm.
“The soil is saturated with rain and the rivers are already swollen, so the emergency is likely to get worse from flooding in the next few days,” he said in a statement.
With power and communications knocked out in many areas, aid agencies were struggling to assess the extent of the devastation.
Mozambican officials said almost all of the homes on the island of Ibo had been destroyed, while the neighbouring mainland district of Macomia had suffered heavy damage.
Trees were ripped from their roots and banks, petrol stations and hotels were also damaged.
Aid workers said some areas, such as Mocimboa de Praia in the north, were also a concern as there had been little communication with them.
The government and aid agencies said 30,000 people had been moved to safety before the storm struck, however it was estimated a total of almost 700,000 were at risk.
