ForAfrika In Mozambique Prepared For ‘Highly Likely’ Devastating Effects After Cyclone Freddy

Cyclone Freddy, which killed seven people in Madagascar earlier this week, made landfall along Mozambique’s coastline as a severe tropical storm on Friday and is expected to cause flooding and the destruction of homes and livelihoods.

“Our teams are on standby, we are well equipped to respond to those most affected, as swiftly as possible,” said Arsenio Mucavele, country director at ForAfrika in Mozambique. 

ForAfrika (formerly JAM International), was born out of Mozambique’s famine in the 1980s, and has grown to be the largest indigenous African organisation responding to humanitarian disasters in the country for close to 40 years. 

He said it is currently difficult to ascertain the extent of damage, but teams on the ground in Beira and Vilankulo are preparing to assess and respond. 

“In our experience, it is highly likely that ensuing floods will affect livelihood activities such as crops, livestock and fishing as well as damage already fragile infrastructure. 

“We have geared up to provide emergency shelter, water and food rations as soon as we can,” said ForAfrika’s Disaster Response Director Charles Wentzel. 

“We will develop a plan in consultation with communities, government and other partners in the affected areas and ensure the availability of resources, including trained personnel,” he concluded.

According to the United Nations’ Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, Mozambique is the third most vulnerable country in Africa to disasters. The devastating effects of strong winds, droughts and floods exacerbate an already fragile infrastructure and a vulnerable population.

The southern African country is still struggling to recover from a string of cyclones over the past few years, violent insurgency in the northern province of Cabo Delgado and a recent cholera outbreak.