TheCable

At least 89 persons have died in Zimbabwe after Cyclone Idai tore across the eastern and southern parts of the country.

A cyclone is a large scale air mass characterised by inward spiralling winds accompanied with flooding.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa returned home early from a trip to the United Arab Emirates to “make sure he is involved directly with the national response”, government officials said.

The government declared a state of disaster in areas affected by the storm–the worst to hit the southern African country since Cyclone Eline devastated eastern and southern Zimbabwe in 2000.

“The number of confirmed deaths throughout the country is now 89,” Nick Mangwana, the secretary for ministry of information.

Local officials say the number of casualties is expected to rise.

The cyclone had begun last week in central Mozambique before moving on to Zimbabwe and Malawi, bringing flash floods and ferocious winds.

The UN said over 100 people have died in weeks of heavy rain and flooding in Mozambique and Malawi, where villages were left underwater.

Hundreds are missing and more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the widespread flooding.

In Zimbabwe, eastern Chimanimani district was the worst-hit part of the country, where houses, roads and bridges were washed away by flash floods when the storm slammed the area.

Air rescue is said to be the only hope for the hundreds who remain stuck.