The death toll from Cyclone Chido’s devastating impact on Mozambique has risen to 94, the country’s disaster management agency announced on Sunday, up from an earlier count of 76.
The cyclone, which ravaged the Indian Ocean region last week, left a trail of destruction in its wake, including the obliteration of over 110,000 homes in Mozambique.
Cyclone Chido first struck the French island territory of Mayotte before making landfall on Mozambique’s northern coast, where it unleashed winds of up to 260 kilometres, 160 miles per hour and dropped 250 millimetres, 10 inches of rain in just 24 hours.
The northern province of Cabo Delgado bore the brunt of the storm. Already struggling with a prolonged Islamist insurgency, the region saw extensive damage, including the destruction of infrastructure such as a mosque in the Mecufi district, which lost its roof in the gale.
More than 620,000 people have been affected by the cyclone, with over 500,000 concentrated in Cabo Delgado.
Relief efforts are ongoing but the scale of destruction has hampered immediate recovery, leaving many residents without shelter, food, or access to clean water.
The cyclone’s devastation comes at a time of heightened political tensions in Mozambique. The ruling Frelimo Party, in power since the country’s independence from Portugal, is facing allegations of electoral fraud following the contentious October presidential election.
Frelimo candidate, Daniel Chapo, whose victory has been denounced by the opposition and criticized by international observers as flawed, visited the cyclone-affected regions on Sunday.
At least 130 people have been killed in protests against the election results, according to Plataforma Decide, a local civil society organization cited by Amnesty International.