Sixteen people have died in a storm that has devastated Mozambique

Cyclone Jude has wreaked havoc in Mozambique, leaving 16 people dead and impacting over 302,000, a local news agency reported on Monday, citing the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD).

The storm made landfall in multiple provinces, including Tete, Manica, Zambezia, Nampula, Niassa, and Cabo Delgado. The INGD's latest update says that more than 65,000 families were affected, with over 70,000 houses either totally or partially destroyed. Almost 1000 homes were flooded.

Educational infrastructure suffered extensively, with hundreds of schools and classrooms hit. The storm interfered with eight supply systems and damaged over 2,500 kilometers of roads, hindering access to essential services.

The Mozambican government has ramped up efforts to support affected communities, deploying response teams to impacted provinces and reactivating emergency operations centers across various districts, according to spokesperson Inocencio Impissa.  

He stated that the measures include "the dissemination of information, preventive evacuations, distribution of shelter materials and food, as well as increased awareness campaigns through community radio stations."

Mozambique has already been struck by Cyclones Chido and Dikeledi this rainy season, which lasts from October to April. The northern regions of the country were the main ones affected. The storms have collectively impacted approximately 736,000 people and caused widespread destruction of property. 

Between 2019 and 2023, extreme weather events resulted in at least 1,016 deaths in Mozambique, affecting around 4.9 million people, according to the Club of Mozambique news outlet, citing data from the National Institute of Statistics.

AFP cited the National Disaster Management Agency as saying the death toll from Cyclone Shido, which struck in December, has reached 94 people.