More than 150 dead after cyclone hits southern Africa

ADRIEN BARBIER / AFP

Cyclone Idai has caused massive damage in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, killing more than 150 people.

 

Mozambique's central port city of Beira was hardest hit, with nearly 90 per cent of the area destroyed.

"I think this is the biggest natural disaster Mozambique has ever faced. Everything is destroyed. Our priority now is to save human lives," said Mozambique’s environment Minister Celso.

UN agencies and the Red Cross have stepped up rescue efforts, and are using helicopters to deliver food supplies and medicines.

More from International

  • Israel says it is poised to move on Rafah

    Israel's military is poised to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah and assault Hamas hold-outs in the southern Gaza Strip city, a senior Israeli defence official said, despite international warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe.

  • More than 100 pilot whales stranded in Western Australia, experts say

    Marine wildlife experts were frantically trying to rescue some 140 pilot whales stranded on Thursday in the shallow waters of an estuary in the southwest of the state of Western Australia.

  • Grand jury indicts 18 in Arizona fake elector scheme

    A grand jury has charged 18 people with allegedly participating in an Arizona fake elector scheme to re-elect then-US President Donald Trump in 2020, the state's attorney general said on Wednesday.

  • India inspects spice makers over alleged contamination

    India is inspecting facilities of spice makers MDH and Everest for compliance with quality standards after sales of some of their products were halted in Hong Kong and Singapore for allegedly containing high levels of a cancer-causing pesticide.

  • Israeli media predict offensive in Gaza's Rafah soon

    Israel is poised to send troops into Rafah, the Gazan city it sees as the last bastion of Hamas, Israeli media reported on Wednesday, saying preparations were under way to evacuate war-displaced Palestinian civilians who have been sheltering there.