Months after tropical cyclone Idai devastated Mozambique, the communities in the port city of Beira continue to face the challenges of rebuilding their homes. Particularly affected by the unprecedented storm were the poorer urban communities. With sustained winds of over 175km per hour and torrential rains, their homes and much of the local public services, such as schools and clinics, were destroyed. More than 950 people were killed, with over 230,000 homes either destroyed or badly damaged.
The EU responded to calls for international assistance within 24 hours, deploying several civil protection teams from EU countries to assist in treating the wounded and helping in the search and recovery efforts. Since then, the EU has provided some Euros 20 million in humanitarian funding to address the most urgent needs of the affected communities.
Our Regional Information Officer, Mathias Eick, recently visited the port city of Beira to meet with colleagues from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM that is providing shelter to vulnerable families in the city.
By Mathias Eick, Regional Information Officer.
Source: European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations