Cyclone Idai was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. It caused catastrophic damage, and a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, leaving more than 1,300 people dead and many more missing. In and around Beira in central Mozambique, a major humanitarian crisis unfolded in the wake of the cyclone, with hundreds of thousands of people in urgent need of assistance. Rescuers were forced to let some people die in order to save others. A cholera outbreak ensued in the storm's wake, with more than 4,000 confirmed cases and seven fatalities. 

In the Southern Hemisphere, Idai ranks as the second-deadliest tropical cyclone on record.

“You just see a dark city, like a dark township,” says Antonio, the owner of the local supermarket.

“I wonder what’s next. We need help now.”

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When the cyclone churned ashore on the night of March 14-15, Antonio and his wife frantically tried to keep the roof of their family home intact as hurricane-force winds tore off tile after tile.

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“It was unbelievable,” says Chillo, Antonio’s nephew. “I saw things flying through the air – things I never thought could be lifted, spinning sheets of roofing metal, twisted tree limbs and household items of all sizes.” 

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Manuel, Antonio’s neighbour was not so lucky. A wooden doorframe is all that remains of his house. When the floodwaters rose, they melted away the mudbricks. His family were forced to shelter on the roof of a nearby bar for seven days before they were able to return.

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Nearly three weeks after Idai’s rampage, Buzi remains cut off from the nearest major town, Beira, as the roads have either been washed away or are covered in debris. Helicopters fly in life-saving aid, but they can only carry so much, and the needs vastly outstrip what humanitarian organizations are able to deliver.

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Meanwhile, amid widespread shortages, the price of food has rocketed. It will be some time before commercial supply chains can be restored and shops can properly restock. Rice now sells in Buzi for up to five times as much as it did just three weeks ago. The cyclone hit at the end of the growing season, destroying some 711,000 hectares of crops and leaving farmers with no money to buy new seeds. There is now a real risk of famine in a country that already had one of the world’s worst rates of child malnutrition.

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“What we need now is food,” says Antonio. “We don’t have food here. My kids go climbing up and down trees looking for coconuts. But that’s not enough. I received a half cup of beans, but I have many family here. They all look at me and say ‘do something.’ It’s very hard you know, it’s like I’m failing to be a good father.”

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With wells supplying drinking water soiled and latrines filled with mud, a cholera outbreak is presenting a fresh threat in cyclone-stricken areas. Already, more than 1,000 people have been diagnosed with the potentially-fatal disease, according to government reports. Oral vaccines have been flown in to the country but until they are administered, some are left with little choice but to consume contaminated food and water.

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“Many people are getting sick here,” says Antonio. “There is no water for us to drink. I wonder what’s next for us because this water comes with different diseases. By consuming this kind of water, people are vomiting, they are having a problem with their stomach. It’s no joke the things that are happening here.”

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People are anxious for what the future holds. Some have decided to leave Buzi, fearful that this will not be the last time the town sees extreme weather. In total, around 150,000 people are living in displacement sites in Mozambique, either unwilling or unable to return home.

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“Every year it’s getting worse,” says Vito, a primary school teacher. “Every year it gets hotter and wetter. There’s nothing left in Buzi. I can’t bring up a family here.”