Tropical Cyclone Chido has affected some 190,000 people in northern Mozambique, a region already severely affected by armed conflict, since making landfall over the weekend, according to preliminary figures reported by the United Nations. Meanwhile, Mozambique's National Disaster Management Authority said on Tuesday that at least 34 people have been killed and more than 300 injured by the extreme storm.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the storm destroyed homes, displaced thousands, and severely damaged roads and communication networks, hampering relief efforts in areas already hosting large numbers of displaced people.
“While the full extent of the damage in rural areas remains unclear, preliminary assessments suggest that around 190,000 people urgently need humanitarian assistance, 33 schools have been affected and nearly 10,000 homes were destroyed,” UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
“In some villages, very few houses remain standing. Years of conflict, forced displacement and economic hardship have left communities in the region increasingly vulnerable. For many displaced families, Cyclone Chido has caused renewed hardship, washing away what little they had managed to rebuild.”
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Chido's heavy winds and torrential rains damaged or destroyed more than 35,000 homes and affected more than 90,000 children in Cabo Delgado province after the storm made landfall on Sunday. The system then moved into Malawi on Monday and is expected to dissipate near Zimbabwe by late Tuesday.
“Mozambique is considered one of the most affected countries in the world by climate change and children were already experiencing several life-threatening emergencies before Cyclone Chido, including conflict, drought, and disease outbreaks,” said Mary Louise Eagleton, UNICEF Representative in Mozambique, in a statement.
UN teams on the ground are reporting significant damage, with housing in some districts completely flattened. Critical infrastructure has also been severely damaged. In the district of Mecufi, health workers are having to operate out of a school in extremely poor conditions.
“UNICEF, along with the government, sister UN agencies, NGOs and local partners, are responding and prioritizing decisive actions for emergency humanitarian action despite the enormous challenges children face in Mozambique,” Eagleton said.
Tropical Cyclone Chido hit the Mecufi district near the city of Pemba in Cabo Delgado province. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that in Cabo Delgado, Mecufi and Chiure districts and the provincial capital of Pemba were severely impacted, followed by Namuno, Montepuez, Metuge, Macomia and Muidumbe districts.
UNHCR said it was concerned that Chido could signal the start of an intense and destructive rainy season, which has historically brought cyclones and severe flooding to the region.
“Displaced communities and their hosts, already struggling to recover, now face increased risks of further displacement and loss, highlighting once again that climate impacts continue hitting the most vulnerable the hardest,” Byun said.
The storm also affected some 34,000 people in Malawi and 64,000 in the Comoros, destroying thousands of homes, according to initial reports. Earlier in its path, Chido caused significant devastation on the island of Mayotte, a French overseas territory, resulting in deaths and extreme damage to infrastructure. Preliminary reports indicate that hundreds of people on the island may have lost their lives.
Over the past decade, climate shocks have intensified extreme weather events in Eastern and Southern Africa. Community-destroying cyclones like Chido are becoming more common. In 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy, the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record, hit Mozambique twice with destructive winds, extreme rainfall and widespread flooding.
Freddy's double landfall in February and March 2023 - one year after the devastating Tropical Cyclone Gombe, caused extensive damage - claimed nearly 200 lives, left more than 184,000 people homeless and affected a total of some 1.2 million men, women and children in the country.
Mozambique is considered one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of global climate change. During the rainy season, which lasts from October to April, it is subject to cyclical flooding and tropical cyclones.
Experts say that with a possible La Nina effect expected in Southern Africa in early 2025, the frequency and intensity of heavy rains and tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean are likely to increase, with flooding expected in areas currently affected by drought.
The combined effects of vulnerability to natural hazards throughout the country and armed conflict in Cabo Delgado province continue to fuel humanitarian needs. Cabo Delgado has experienced at least seven years of brutal conflict. An estimated 580,000 people, mostly women and children, remain internally displaced.
In Mozambique, some 3.3 million people face severe acute food insecurity (IPC phase 3 or worse) between October 2024 and March 2025. Of these, 773,000 are estimated to be in emergency hunger (IPC phase 4). About 144,000 children under five are estimated to be acutely malnourished.
The main drivers of food insecurity in Mozambique are the impact of an El Niño-induced drought and other climate-related shocks, as well as the conflict in northern Mozambique, including the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Nampula.
Additional funding is urgently needed to sustain the humanitarian response at a time when Mozambique is also facing drought and conflict. The UN estimates that in 2025, some 2.5 million people in Mozambique will require humanitarian assistance, most of them in Cabo Delgado and the neighboring provinces of Niassa and Nampula.
The Southern Africa region is currently facing its worst hunger crisis in decades. A widespread drought in the region in 2023-2024, triggered by the El Niño weather pattern, has pushed tens of millions of people to crisis levels of hunger in several countries. While Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe are the worst affected, parts of Mozambique are also severely hit.
Humanitarian operations in the country remain woefully underfunded. Funding shortfalls this year have hampered humanitarian assistance and limited food distribution. The Mozambique 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), which targets 1.7 million vulnerable people, is only 40 percent funded as of today. The Mozambique Drought Flash Appeal 2024 is only 19 percent covered.