Cyclone Idai: Beira will take years to rebuild, going through ‘authentic catastrophe’ – City Hall

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Cyclone Idai: Beira will take years to rebuild, going through ‘authentic catastrophe’ – City Hall

2:50 CAT | 19 Mar 2019

Photo: Voa / AP

Municipal authorities in Beira, one of the places most devastated by the passage of Cyclone Idai through Mozambique, recognise that they are in the midst of a “an authentic catastrophe” and warn that the city will take years to recover.

Speaking to VOA, José Manuel Moisés, a councillor on Beira Municipal Council, says it is not yet possible to estimate costs, but does not doubt that they be very high, “and that the municipality will not be able to do anything on its own”.

Beira is among those Mozambican coastal cities built below sea level, and the big challenge has always been to protect its coastline from erosion. City officials say they have done everything to ensure that this was achieved, but without great success, due to lack of money.

Last year, the mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango, confirmed in an interview with VOA that the local municipality would need at least US$600 million in order to carry out comprehensive and effective coastal protection work.

This amount may well now be out of date because of the additional damage wrought by Cyclone Idai.

One of the major challenges will be to secure money for coastal protection, as part of the barrier has been hit hard by the cyclone. If that does not happen, councillor José Manuel Moisés warns that, if a new Idai appears, Beira “could be wiped off the map of Mozambique”.

The damage is still being assessed by the municipal council.

By Francisco Júnior

Source: Voa Portugues