HARARE —The United Nations asked donors on Friday for an extra $60 million to help Zimbabwe recover from a cyclone that tore through eastern regions last month.
The storm flooded swathes of land, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis caused by an earlier drought. It killed at least 268 in the southern African country and hundreds more in neighbouring Mozambique and Malawi.
“The revised humanitarian flash appeal aims to respond to the rising humanitarian needs of people in Zimbabwe due to a dry spell, challenging economic situation and compounded by the recent Cyclone Idai disaster,” the UN’s resident coordinator in Harare, Bishow Parajuli, said.
The request raised its total current appeal for Zimbabwe to $294 million.
Zimbabweans are also facing an economic crisis — prices of staples such as sugar, cooking oil and rice have risen as much as 60% since February, fuelling anger against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government
Hundreds of thousands of people are in need of food, water and shelter after Cyclone Idai battered Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Cyclone Idai factfile
As of Friday, at least 843 people had been reported killed by the storm, the flooding it caused and heavy rains before it hit. Following is an outline of the disaster, according to government and United Nations officials:
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Zimbabwe
On March 16, the storm hit eastern Zimbabwe, where it flattened homes and flooded communities in the Chimanimani and Chipinge districts.
People killed: 344
People missing: 257
Malawi
Before it arrived, the storm brought heavy rains and flooding to the lower Shire River districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje, in Malawi’s south. The rains continued after the storm hit, compounding the misery of tens of thousands of people.
People killed: 60
People injured: 672
People displaced: 19 328 households
—Reuters
