Marooned Mozambicans cling to life on roofs, terraces

Locals stand beside a damaged section of the road between Beira and Chimoio in Nhamatanda district, central Mozambique, on March 19, 2019, after the area was hit by the Cyclone Idai. PHOTO | ADRIEN BARBIER | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Five days after a vicious tropical storm tore through their neighbourhood in Buzi, central Mozambique, they remain trapped by flood water.

  • A short distance away, another group is huddled together under an orange garden umbrella, on the roof of a church.

Buzi,

Perched on the terraces of a sports stadium, scores of marooned people stare down at a basketball court filled with dirty brown water.

Five days after a vicious tropical storm tore through their neighbourhood in Buzi, central Mozambique, they remain trapped by flood water.

A short distance away, another group is huddled together under an orange garden umbrella, on the roof of a church.

A picture shows houses in a flooded area of Buzi, central Mozambique, on March 20, 2019, after the passage of cyclone Idai. PHOTO | ADRIEN BARBIER | AFP

Stranded residents are desperate to be evacuated, but food and clean water are even more pressing needs.

OPEN SPACE

"The situation is very bad, we haven't eaten since Thursday, until today. We are sleeping outside, everything is destroyed, our houses are destroyed, everything is gone, we have recovered nothing," said Aunicia Jose, 24, speaking in Gwara-Gwara, near Buzi.

People gather on the roof of a house submerged by floods in Buzi on March 20, 2019. PHOTO | ADRIEN BARBIER | AFP

A mob of villagers rushed to an open space where a helicopter had just dropped food, an AFP reporter saw.

Joel Baertschi, a chopper pilot for a Christian humanitarian group, told AFP his organisation had flown in tonnes of food, sometimes plucking people from treetops and roofs, and was now setting up a camp for survivors.

People walk on the flooded street of Buzi, central Mozambique, on March 20, 2019 after the passage of the cyclone Idai. PHOTO | ADRIEN BARBIER | AFP

"We can tell clearly that there is a lot less water now. I reckon one to two metres (3.5 to seven feet) (down) although I am not an expert," he said.

"When we first saw them on Monday, they were in water up to their necks."

Residents gather stranded on the stands of a stadium in a flooded area of Buzi, central Mozambique, on March 20, 2019, after the passage of cyclone Idai. PHOTO | ADRIEN BARBIER | AFP

He added: "Most of them were on rooftops or gathered on trees huddling into each other and today we actually saw (some of) them walking in Buzi.

"Although the town is still flooded, it gives an indication that the water is going down and help will be easier to access the place."