Cyclone Gezani has left a trail of destruction across Mozambique’s Inhambane province where more than 1,200 homes were damaged and at least 17,000 electricity customers remain without power since Friday.
The cyclone struck Mozambique on Friday evening after devastating Madagascar earlier in the week where at least 40 people died and major infrastructure was destroyed.
According to Mozambican authorities, at least four people were killed, hundreds were injured or displaced and more than 1,200 homes were partially or completely destroyed when the cyclone made landfall in Inhambane.
Schools, health units and water systems also suffered extensive damage.
State-run power utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) announced on Sunday that the cyclone extensively damaged electricity infrastructure in Inhambane.
According to EDM, the cyclone brought down 61 electricity poles, with 29 still to be replaced, and caused widespread structural damage.
It said the cyclone initially disrupted supply to 132,000 customers but repair teams have since restored service to most affected areas,
EDM has deployed emergency generators and reinforced technical teams to accelerate repairs, while authorities have urged residents to treat all electrical installations as live during the outage.
Mozambique remains in its rainy season and is still recovering from earlier floods that affected more than 700,000 people, underscoring the country’s vulnerability to extreme weather events.
JN/APA