Mozambique’s historic double cyclone never before seen just north of my border leaves over 600 dead and four countries reeling
Just one month after Idai, the biggest cyclone in history to ever hit the east coast of Africa at Mozambique killing 600, a second category three cyclone, Kenneth, makes landfall killing another 40 people.
This is the worst natural disaster for my northern neighbor in its history. The fourth largest city - Beira - on the east coast of Mozambique has been flattened. Hospitals have been destroyed. There are never cyclones making landfall this far south in Africa, and this season two have struck in succession. This is like a Hurricane Harvey or Katrina that hit the US in recent years, but the international aid requested by the UN has not even reached 28% of needs. Within days billions of dollars were raised last week when Notre Dame cathedral burned, with zero injuries or fatalities. And yet here in Africa up the road from me we have an unprecedented disaster never before seen on earth, in a double dose, and yet aid relief is trifling.
The obvious reason why aid has been so scarce is because of corruption in Africa among the government sector, with a concern about whether the aid will reach its destination without being stolen on route. Mozambique recently had a major scandal where a top government minister was arrested abroad for alleged crimes of theft or corruption, which is endemic in Africa. Because of this 2 million people are right now urgently in need of drinking water, food and medication. The global aid response has been tragically slow.
The government might be to blame, but still millions are in the most dire circumstances. Cholera and Malaria are endemic to the region and disease is spreading. Aid agencies are sending out impassioned pleas for aid, but decades of structural problems in African government have eroded the path of good will from the international community. The tragedy is a black swan event with multiple angles of concern. One is the government corruption while the other is the massive climate shifts taking place at this point in history.
Mass destruction from wind and flooding has removed roofs of almost every single dwelling in the regions hit. Most of them are mud and straw huts really, in tropical and impoverished Mozambique. The devastation is even present on the small islands offshore where emergency workers have yet to reach victims stranded. Northern areas were hit in the recent strike, while Idai last month devastated the mid and southern regions. No part of the country has been left unaffected. Hundreds of thousands of people are in a desperate situation right now.
I don’t think the first world can even imagine the conditions and the tragedy. Such storms reaching 174 mph have occurred throughout the world before, but when the conditions are already at third world status and aid is absent, such a devastating cyclone is the worst possible event one can imagine. Thousands of families are desperate for their lives now, what to speak of schooling and work which has come to a standstill for possibly months to come. Entire towns remain under water right now as I write this. News is coming in as rescue workers reach stranded communities bit by bit. Four countries – Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and my own South Africa - have been hit by this tragedy, all losing lives from the cyclones.
One cyclone was already an unheard of historic event, so what would you call two such cyclones, 6 weeks apart? Is this a sign of climate change? These cyclones are usually found further north, but changes in ocean currents or temperatures are pushing them way south this year. This is not an anomaly but a trend potentially, and the poorest nations in the world are suffering along with the richest. The only problem is that the poorest are receiving negligible aid, and the nations may be set back years economically and developmentally as a result. Those that survive this disaster will be climate refugees for the immediate future as entire town lie ruined and may take months or years to rebuild, by which time people will have been obliged to relocate to survive.
It appears as if life will never be the same again for more and more people across the globe. And no one is immune. Nobody can predict where the next natural disaster will hit. Every continent and nation is at risk today under the current conditions. From South America to Australia, North America to India – all are being smashed almost every year now by floods or drought or fire or all three. And if food crops also take a hit in coming years as they are beginning to now, then the knock on effect of global food shortages will certainly have ripple effects to your supermarket and your personal life, until each and every one of us on the new planet earth of today, will be like a stranger in a strange land that used to be called home.
Ref: https://cpj.org/2019/03/cpj-safety-advisory-covering-the-aftermath-of-trop.php
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It is sad when something like this takes place , but you can't blame the people not giving aid either. We knew it was going to stop at some point as people have had enough of being taken for a ride. At the end of the day the people suffer for a few actions of others. I stopped giving to charities years ago and know many others who have as well.
Allow me if I may, there are many charities that are not on the take, but our field is like the rest of the world. A few big name bad apples on the take have blackened the charity name.
Now the smaller charities have to struggle to get their work done!
Blessings!
That is why I support a charity in my area supplying a meal to an elderly couple daily. The bad apples have ruined it for everyone else and it will be hard to get it back.
Glad that you are supporting a worthy charity my friend.
I don't think the charity name will ever be restored. Too many snakes around.
I even hated it when it was suggested that our tag name here should be @papilloncharity to best explain our work, as we go way beyond charity work, but what's done is done.
Fortunately there are a few here on steemit that know us and our work and we are used to the struggle.
Blessings!
I agree the name has been tarnished and a lot of it is down to the Directors of charities who rake in fat cat salaries skimming off the top.
Ha! Some of these same fat cat directors have approached us in the past for partnerships. A guy from a big name charity stopped in the latest Mercedes Benz car at our place and he offered me a lucrative partnership.
He had heard that we passed a full investigation by a US charity umbrella organization and that we received the award of a "Top-Rated NPO"
Of course he was also after our credits, but I cut him short very quickly and sent him away.
Yet another one offered me a directorship at his charity for a huge salary and benefits.
Then many others see the establishment of a charity as quick riches, but thankfully they don't last very long.
It is a sick world my friend and I don't think it is going to get any better soon.
Very sad to hear that. I came across a huge charity that flies everyone around to various conferences wasting all the money which could be used on the charity itself. They like the jet set lifestyle and all the perks that go along with it.
Charity work is a calling my friend. NOT a job and if one is not prepared to sacrifice and to live among the poor, how can one then expect the trust and the love of the people that one claims to be helping.
Just the other day we approached a professional fundraiser to take over my duties, as I had a major operation and was told to slow down.
Well her charges for a day is equal to my monthly salary.
And so we struggle along as usual, but now in our 18th year, I can assure you that we will never stop!
Blessings!
Good points all round in your comments. I lived in a community for 10 years where we were never given a slary but all did purely volunteer work. This was in my 20s and we would go into the poor black squatter camps and feed 300 people at a time about to or three times a week. I would cook in a big pot on a gas stove and fill three big bins of veg and rice stew with lentils which was very nutritious. It was a fulfilling service and no salary was ever needed as all our basic needs were covered in the community. No one had a car of their own and we used the communal vehicles and all had tasks as a team. Life could be fine like that... until you have a family and kids which then requires a lot more resources to raise them I presume.
Sad when the living are overlooked in preference to a historical landmark, sure the church has enough money in the coffers to afford repairs. Mankind has gone crazy along with the weather of late.
These humans are crazy.
What horrible devastation! And so sad that the people must suffer because of the governments past corrupt actions!
It must be so frustrating to find your country in such a state. Is there much resistance against the government that you can see some clearing of the corruption?
My heart goes out to you and your fellow countrymen and neighboring countries! Keep safe!
It is a struggle here in Southern Africa. Actually the government here are even stoking up the idea of taking land away from the white farmers to redistribute, so actually promote a type of justified theft. When they did that in Zimbabwe a few decades ago, the nation went to ruins son after because not everyone can farm like a real farmer. Here they blame every white person for their woes even 25 years after the black African citizens reclaimed their country from the Apartheid colonizers. The psyche of the people here is badly warped by abuse in the past but it has led to a sense of entitlement and a reverse racist attitude that colors the politics completely.
Thanks for your kind wishes and thoughts.
Such a shame to have it swing to a reverse racist attitude!
How soon we do forget what it's like to be the receiver of that treatment and why you would wish to treat others like that if you had suffered because of it.
Oh how I wish we could have good government that has it's peoples interest at heart and not so corrupt.
I have lost faith in government and it is nowhere near to what is going on with your government. Such injustice!
I hope you can keep well and happy among all this!
Thanks for your kind thoughts @porters. I am personally doing fine. Tomorrow we vote in a national election here, you can see my latest post, which will give more info on the political situation.
OMG! idk what to say - it's so shocking! I wonder why all the big news portals are not writing about this. just wonder why?
There is so much going on all over the planet. Weather event probably don't take high priority in the mainstream news. I did see some reports on Al Jazeera, a mainstream TV news channel. Sometimes the news channels are run by corporations with other agendas to adhere to.
Wow.
Until your post, I hadn't even heard of such an event taking place. I'm in the US. Granted, I don't watch news channels - I hate to admit it, but I get most of my news from Facebook. However, if it's not on Facebook it's just not being talked about here.
I spent weeks in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina serving meals to people in the devastated areas. It's important work, and I hope your people get their needs met. Do you have links to relief organizations that ARE working that we could share on other media sites?
#powerhousecreatives
Thanks for your positive feedback @mattifer. You are rendering a good service by helping in the aftermath as you did of Hurricane Katrina.
I know there is one charity organization called "Gift of the Givers" that help in situations here. Theremay be others, including international aid groups.
So much is going on that affects millions of people at a time nowadays, and it slips our notice among the mass of data. Just a few days ago a cyclone hit the east coast of India quite badly, like Katrina. It seems to be an annual occurrence somewhere on the planet. And to think how many thousands are left for weeks and months after with their lives ruined. There must be pockets of devastation all over the planet busy trying to return to normality every day. Even Haiti was smashed a year or so back and is probably still in a difficult place.
I wonder if these sorts of things have always been common - but now that we are digitally connected and have SO MUCH access to information, we feel like more should be done. 150 years ago, I had an excuse for not helping with a catastrophe on the other side of the globe. Today, there's no excuse, only an option to help or not help.
Oh yeah, see what corruption has done to us?
Billions stolen by the top dogs to live in luxury whilst the poor who the money was intended for have to scrounge for crumbs.
Our county's reputation sucks and we cannot blame the ones that we criticize at all times for not helping us.
Why is China, Russia, India and even Brazil not rushing to our aid?
So sad!
I presume China is already investing a lot into SA but it is probably mostly for their own end in the long run.
Oh yeah, you got that right my friend. Always for their own benefit!
Blessings!
I know exactly what you are saying and as a fellow South African mourn the world's scepticism when it comes to sending aid to places of dire need.
I pray for relief from greed, corruption and strife.
Well documented
Thanks @justjoy, yes we seem to be stuck here in a land of corruption. Even today their are commissions and hearings going on that reveal how apparently fraudulent some of our politicians are.
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