Advertisement
Mozambique needs $3.2 billion for post-cyclone reconstruction: local media
Buildings damaged during Cyclone Kenneth are seen from the air in a village north of Pemba, Mozambique, May 1, 2019. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
15/05/2019
MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique will need about $3.2 billion in aid to rebuild infrastructure destroyed by two recent cyclones, government officials were quoted by local media as saying.
The southern African country will host an international donor conference in the city of Beira at the end of May that is expected to draw around 700 participants from international organizations, donors, private sector and civil society.
Cyclone Kenneth crashed into the province of Cabo Delgado and flattened entire villages with winds of up to 280 kph (174 mph), killing around 45 people while Mozambique was still struggling to deal with the impact of Cyclone Idai, which hammered the country's central region just six weeks earlier.
More than 1,000 people were killed across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi when Cyclone Idai, the worst cyclone in decades, lashed its eastern Indian Ocean coast with heavy winds and rains in mid-March.
Around $3 billion is needed just to repair damage caused by Cyclone Idai in Sofala, Manica, Zambézia, Tete and northern Inhambane provinces, government spokeswomen Ana Comoana was quoted by newspaper Noticias on Tuesday as saying.
Comoana could not be reached for further comment.
The World Bank said earlier this month it would give Mozambique $350 million through its International Development Association (IDA) Crisis Response Window (CRW) to re-establish the water supply, rebuild damaged public infrastructure and support disease prevention, among other things.
(Reporting by Manuel Mucari; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Add new comment