Cyclone Leaves Dead And Destruction Across Slew Of Indian Ocean Islands
Pastor Dale Morgan
Cyclone Leaves Dead And Destruction Across Slew Of Indian Ocean Islands*
In Mauritius about 60 percent of electricity subscribers were without
power, but the airport and ports had reopened. Schools, however, would
also remain closed Monday.
by Staff Writers
Saint-Denis-De-La-Reunion (AFP) Feb 25, 2007
Two people were killed on Mauritius and nine hurt in the French Indian
Ocean department of Reunion when a tropical cyclone brushed the island
at the weekend, officials said Sunday. The victims had ignored official
bans on going out while Cyclone Gamede was in the vicinity.
On Mauritius a man of 22 was swept away by high waves on Saturday some
10 kilometres (six miles) south of the capital Port Louis. Local member
of parliament Maurice Allet said he had slipped off a rock which he and
two companions had climbed.
Early Sunday a 41-year-old cyclist was killed when he rode into a fallen
electric cable in the centre of Mauritius, police said.
On Reunion nine people were injured, one seriously, when they defied a
ban on driving.
In the south of the island a 520-metre (600-yard) long bridge was swept
away and around 100,000 people were deprived of electricity, officials said.
The mayor of the town of Saint Louis, Cyrille Hamilcaro, said the
collapse of the bridge over the Saint Etienne river was a disaster which
would cause serious disruption to the local economy.
Farmers' leader Jean-Yves Minatchy said torrential rain and wind
reaching a record 205 kilometres (127 miles) per hour had also caused
heavy damage to crops, especially sugar cane and bananas.
As Gamede moved away north-westward authorities said a red alert
forbidding movement would be lifted early Monday but schools would
remain closed.
In Mauritius about 60 percent of electricity subscribers were without
power, but the airport and ports had reopened. Schools, however, would
also remain closed Monday.
earlier related report
Death toll rises after cyclone hits Mozambique
Johannesburg (AFP) Feb 24 - A cyclone that hit Mozambique only days
after disastrous floods left at least 10 people dead and 70 injured in
the east of the country, a Red Cross official said Saturday.
Cyclone Favio flattened most of the worst-hit town, Vilankulo in coastal
Inhambane province, 800 kilometers (500 miles) northeast of the capital
Maputo on Thursday.
"There are three dead in Vilankulo hospital," Hanna Schmuck of the
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in
Mozambique, told AFP.
"There is also one dead at Govuro, two at Inhassoro, two at Machanga,
one at Beira and one in Buzi," she added, referring to places along the
coast.
Many roofs had blown off and the government had provided tents for more
than 40,000 people affected, but many had preferred to stay and try to
rebuild their homes for fear of looting, Schmuck said.
Residents of Vilankulo in particular were still very shocked, she added.
The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (EHCO) on Saturday
pledged 2 million euros (2,633,000 dollars) to help set up basic
provisions such as clean drinking water and medical centres.
ECHO also said it was sending a plane from the Democratic Republic of
Congo to help distribute aid to the affected areas, adding that staff
had arrived at Vilankulo to carry out assessments. Also Saturday the
South African government said it was sending aid to its neighbour in the
wake of the cyclone, which packed winds of up to 180 kilometres an hour.
"The immediate needs for humanitarian assistance include helicopters,
tents for displaced people who are now living in temporary accommodation
centres, roof sheeting for the reconstruction of homes, water treatment
plants for the accommodation and resettlement centres," the foreign
ministry said.
"We are ready to provide the material assistance required by the
Government of Mozambique. These include the provision of the helicopters
to transport food to the temporary accommodation centres," a statement
added.
The cyclone added to the strain on emergency workers already helping
victims of recent flooding that left 80,000 people living alongside the
Zambezi river homeless and around 30 dead.
South Africa praised its neighbour for the way it was tackling the
situation, saying, "The Mozambican Government has proactively
implemented numerous contingency plans and mobilised significant
resources to pre-empt and deal with the direct effects of the disaster."
Source: Agence France-Presse