On January 23, tropical cyclone Eloise made landfall in Beira, Mozambique’s fourth largest city by population.
The country faced previous disasters, including cyclones Idai and Kenneth in 2019, tropical storm Chalane in December 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, and uprisings in the Cabo Delgado area.  

Eloise made landfall as a category one storm, followed by heavy rainfall of 200 mm (7 inches) within a 24-hour span. Local weather reports forecast that the rains will continue for a week, affecting Manica and parts of Inhambane and Zambezia.

Tropical cyclone Eloise is expected to affect southern Zimbabwe, northern South Africa, southern Mozambique, Eswatini and eastern Botswana with cumulative rainfall in some areas.

“Nine injuries have been reported with one in critical condition in the Sofala province. No fatalities have been reported,” says Rumbidzai Musengi, emergency response coordinator in Mozambique for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). “Property has been destroyed, including over 20,000 hectares (49, 421 acres) of agricultural produce and thousands of homes by the heavy rains and floods. Those affected have been evacuated by authorities to temporary accommodation centers.” 

ADRA deployed relief aid teams in the Chibuto, Guija and Massangena districts of Gaza. Two districts in Inhambane, including Panda and Funhalouro, are already receiving help from ADRA through a Lean Season Assistance Project in partnership with the World Food Programme. In Mozambique, the project provides critical food assistance to farmers who experience low food supplies before the next planting and harvesting seasons.

“ADRA is also coordinating with the Seventh-day Adventist church in Vilanculos and other partners to participate in a rapid needs assessment that would be carried out as soon as the cyclone and the rains have subsided,” says David Masinde, ADRA’s country director in Mozambique. “ADRA in Mozambique is also looking to a bigger response as we put resources together with the support of the global ADRA network.”

Mozambique was pummelled by severe floods due to tropical storm Chalane in December 2020, where more than 9,300 families needed government assistance. Many received food for a week and were provided with safe drinking water. During that time, ADRA provided 200 tents to people seeking shelter in Beira.

While local accommodation centers provided makeshift shelter to accommodate housing needs, ADRA supplied non-food items, which included face masks, mosquito nets, plates, and cups for 200 households in Beira to meet immediate needs.

“Building back from the previous cyclones has not been quick enough to shield the people of Beira from the impact of tropical storm Chalane. With the most recent cyclone, the situation has become more dire for those in newly resettled areas and tents and tarpaulin shelters,” Musengi says. 

Updates about ADRA’s response in Mozambique can be found at https://www.facebook.com/adramozambique/.