The number of known fatalities rose to 38 in Mozambique on Monday as areas slowly began to assess damage from Cyclone Kenneth.
As feared by AccuWeather meteorologists, serious flooding has unfolded in recent days despite Kenneth rapidly losing wind intensity after making landfall.
“The coastal city and the capital of Cabo Delgado Province, Pemba, has been inundated by more than 575 mm (22.64 inches) of rain by Kenneth, with the majority falling on Saturday and Sunday,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
“Help us, we are losing everything!”, the Associated Press (AP) quoted residents of Pemba shouting at passing cars amid the severe flooding.
Floodwaters are waist high in parts of Pemba, and homes have collapsed amid the flooding in northern Mozambique.
Nearly 700,000 people may have been impacted by the cyclone, the AP said, citing the country’s disaster management agency. Many have been left exposed and hungry amid rising floodwaters.
However, the agency commended advance notice of Kenneth in preventing an even more dire situation.
More than 35,000 homes in northernmost Cabo Delgado were partially or fully destroyed by Kenneth.
This figure includes about 90 percent of homes, which were mostly made of mud, in the main village on Ibo Island, Mozambique. Ibo is located near where Kenneth barreled onshore.
The number of fatalities rose dramatically on Monday as recovery efforts continued but were hindered by additional downpours.
Additional showers and thunderstorms can bring localized downpours into Wednesday.
“That can make the flood disaster even more dire in the hardest-hit communities,” Pydynowski said. “Streams, rivers and coastal waterways can continue to overflow their banks and further put neighboring land and homes underwater.”
More homes may succumb to the flooding. Boats and helicopters may need to be deployed to reach victims where flooding becomes too severe for vehicles.
“A few thunderstorms can also rumble around Kenneth’s center, which can further hinder rescue, recovery and storm cleanup efforts,” Pydynowski added.
The weather will improve during the second half of this week as rainfall becomes less likely each day from Thursday into the weekend.
Kenneth is the first tropical cyclone with the equivalent of hurricane strength to strike Mozambique’s northern province of Cabo Delgado since modern record-keeping began 60 years ago.