Cyclone Idai swept through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe after first making landfall on March 14.  High winds and widespread flooding have claimed more than 1,000 lives.  The floods are slowly receding but 3 million people have been affected, many losing homes and livelihoods.  Those affected urgently need food, water and shelter as well as sanitation and hygiene supplies.  In the weeks ahead people will need to rebuild homes and livelihoods lost in the storm.

People affected already live with high levels of poverty and know there are limited services available from their governments.

“The destruction caused by Cyclone Idai will take years for communities to recover, but Zimbabweans have demonstrated that communities will not stand alone,” says Sostina Takure, ACT Alliance’s Zimbabwe Forum Coordinator visiting affected communities.

Crops almost ready for harvest have been destroyed, leaving families critically short of food in coming months.  There is a critical shortage of clean drinking water. ACT Alliance members are distributing food, non-food items, water, and hygiene kits.  They are  assisting with sanitation, shelter and rebuilding livelihoods lost in the storm. 

More help is needed so they can reach many more people with urgent supplies.  If you can, please donate now.

“We call upon you to join in prayers and sympathising with all the people who are trapped in this catastrophic incident and the support for these thousands of people that are displaced and rendered homeless, missing and injured”, says Rev. Alex Benson Maulana, general secretary of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Blantyre Synod from Malawi.

The people affected urgently need food, clothing, utensils, shelter and many other things. “We appeal to our partners and all people of goodwill to spare some resources and whatever you can to support our fellow brothers and sisters who are now struggling with life”, says Maulana.

In Malawi, the southern region has left thousands of people living in temporary shelters or in the open and facing food insecurity and health risks such as water-borne disease.

In Mozambique, the worst affected areas lie in the the provinces of Zambezia, Niassa and Sofala – 90% of the land, homes and infrastructure around worst-hit Beira city on the coast has been destroyed.

In eastern Zimbabwe, the Manicaland province has been worst affected.  People are sheltering in churches and temporary structures provided by the United Nations.