Catholic Relief Services (CRS) responds to tropical cyclone Idai in Mozambique

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Catholic Relief Services (CRS) responds to tropical cyclone Idai in Mozambique

3:04 CAT | 16 Mar 2019

Shoprite, Beira. Photo: Twitter / @teveen

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA, March 15, 2019 – The strongest cyclone to hit Mozambique in almost 20 years has left more than one hundred people dead and thousands displaced from their homes. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), in collaboration with the local church and government, is there to assess the situation and provide emergency aid to the families impacted by the disaster.

“Tropical Cyclone Idai makes an already dangerous situation even more serious. Thousands of people have already been affected by drought, severe rains and flooding in the last few weeks,” said Erica Dahl-Bredine, CRS’ country representative for Lesotho and Mozambique.

Over the last several weeks, extreme weather events have flooded 407,434 acres of farm land, affecting more than 100,000 farmers that depend on their land as their main source of income and food.

“These numbers will likely increase dramatically, and we will continue to assess the situation and as the scope of need becomes clearer,” Dahl-Bredine said.

As soon as the storm passes, CRS and local church partners are poised to:

• Provide emergency shelters in the hardest-hit areas and,
• Distribute relief items, including health & hygiene kits, soap, sanitation items, and clean water.

After a natural disaster, clean water is essential to prevent an outbreak of cholera, a disease that can quickly cause severe dehydration and death.

“We are concerned about the possibility of disease outbreaks as sanitation conditions deteriorate,” Dahl-Bredine said. “We will be actively preparing for this scenario and assessing immediate needs to provide the assistance most needed.”’

For updates on the response to Tropical Cyclone Idai, go to https://www.crs.org/press-room.

#CycloneIdai has left 100+ people dead & thousands displaced from their homes in #Mozambique. We are collaborating w/ local church & gov’t to assess the situation & provide emergency aid to the families impacted by the disaster. You can help: https://t.co/Ig3s3IoCZx. #Idai pic.twitter.com/KTxRt1b6fL

— Catholic Relief (@CatholicRelief) March 15, 2019

More footage arriving from Beira Mozambique this time sent in by Despina Nicolau pic.twitter.com/SpUyozf4qj

— Storm Report SA (@StormReportSA1) March 15, 2019

#Idai #cicloneidai #Moçambique via TVM Televisão de Moçambique 16-03 (video) info 2 pic.twitter.com/Fr4RqpV9aa

— Nuno Teixeira (@teveen) March 16, 2019

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org and follow Catholic Relief Services on social media in English at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube; and in Spanish at: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

A Bancada parlamentar da #Frelimo remeteu ao Instituto Nacional de Gestão de Calamidades um cheque no valor de 417.000.00 meticais em apoio as vitimas de calamidades naturais. #CycloneIdai pic.twitter.com/sFaXCEWsc3

— Alexandre (@AllexandreMZ) March 15, 2019

Source: Relief Web / Catholic Relief Services - Press Release