Cyclone Idai: more than 1,000 feared dead in Mozambique:
More than 1,000 people are feared dead in a devastating cyclone that hit Mozambique on Friday, the country's president has said.
Filipe Nyusi told Mozambican radio he had seen "many bodies" floating in the overflowing Pungwe and Busi rivers. "It appears that we can register more than 1,000 deaths," he said, adding that more than 100,000 people were at risk because of severe flooding.
At least 215 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds are missing across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe from Tropical Cyclone Idai, according to government agencies and the Red Cross, which said 1.5 million people had been affected.
A more precise death toll and the true scale of the damage is not likely to be known soon, as many areas are cut off.
"I think this is the biggest natural disaster Mozambique has ever faced. Everything is destroyed," Celso Correia, the environment minister, said. "Our priority now is to save human lives."
A British doctor who was in Beira when the cyclone hit and managed to get on a plane to Maputo on Sunday said he saw widespread damage to buildings, trees and power lines in the city. He said the poorest seemed to be the hardest hit.
"All those who were in reasonably built houses/ hotels during the storm who I heard about seemed to come through unscathed," Mark Ellul wrote from Johannesburg. "I did hear of casualties and fatalities from those I talked to, who were all in poorly built accommodation in the centre of the city. My thoughts were constantly with those people (the majority) who have poorly built houses and had to endure this horrific storm with very little shelter."
In images taken by the South African broadcaster eNCA , people were seen climbing trees and wading through waist-high water as ripped-off roofs and debris lay scattered across the city.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @05:45AM (4 children)
How is that pronounced?
"I die"?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @06:18AM
Or is it perhaps a drawling version of "itai" (pain, in Japanese)?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday March 20 2019, @06:30AM (2 children)
ih d ee [pronouncenames.com]
Something like Yddee?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by aiwarrior on Wednesday March 20 2019, @08:01AM (1 child)
In Portuguese if the accent would be in í, it would sound like "E daí?" Which would mean "So what".
I would guess the normal in English would 'E-dai", but english has so erratic sound-to-letter relationship i do not really know.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @12:35PM
Calling a hurricane 'so what' is just cruel
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @07:05AM (5 children)
Apparently the strategic Caborra Bassa Dam (hydro) was damaged and is offline. Power from there supports the power grid in South Africa (itself undergoing a generation crisis thanks to decades of massive corruption - Gupta thefts, etc). There are rolling blackouts called "load shedding" where three times a day your power goes off for several hours at a time. Nevermind your freezer's contents, work productivity, stores, banks, factories, etc. Not all are supported by their own generators on site. This is going to have a huge economical impact for the whole region.
Other thread: Idai is like Hyundai with an "I" (from aye-aye sir) and the Hyundai without the Hyun. I-day - just don't tell the Frui Co lest they patent/trademark iDay.
(Score: 3, Informative) by aiwarrior on Wednesday March 20 2019, @08:04AM (3 children)
Cabora Bassa, the damn built by those pesky colonial portuguese that keeps on giving. Most of the "modern" infrastructure of Mozambique was made by the Portuguese. The highways for example still exist, althogh the road parts are smaller than the holes.
Mozambique is unfortunately very close to a failed state. My friends and my father loved it and would like to live there but some of the troubles they had make them whince.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @12:59PM (2 children)
It's not just a failed state. It sits upon a failed continent. Perhaps this is the reason that modern humans left the motherland behind for harsher climates relegating their less civilized cousins to the stagnation, corruption and infighting that is the hallmark of Africa.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 20 2019, @02:04PM
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @05:57PM
Another racist AC post on SN. Whattsamatter VLM? Don't like the negative karma?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @05:42PM
"South Africa (itself undergoing a generation crisis thanks to decades of massive corruption - Gupta thefts, etc)"
South Africa (itself undergoing a generation crisis thanks to the country being turned over to the blacks.)
(Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday March 20 2019, @07:08AM (1 child)
My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Nambia Cyclone -- including the Muslims. God bless you!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @12:31PM
Best. Troll. Yet.
(Score: 3, Informative) by khallow on Wednesday March 20 2019, @02:12PM (1 child)
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 20 2019, @02:15PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @03:52PM
So that they can be intercepted by the war-lords and/or corrupt government.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @09:18PM (2 children)
And were the non-Muslim victims collateral damage in God's revenge on the Mohammedans?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20 2019, @10:48PM (1 child)
My brain was collateral damage from reading your post!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 21 2019, @07:43AM
Then it wasn't much of a brain to begin with, was it. Perhaps you should get a refund.