Additional 368,000 Children At Risk In Mozambique After Second Devastating Cyclone – UNICEF
Children and families in areas affected by Cyclone Kenneth could face deadly flooding and landslides in coming days
NEW YORK / MAPUTO (April 27, 2019) – An additional 368,000 children in Mozambique are now at risk and potentially in need of lifesaving humanitarian support after the country was hit by a second major storm – Cyclone Kenneth – in less than six weeks, UNICEF said today. Cyclone Kenneth made landfall Thursday in the Cabo Delgado province of northern Mozambique as a Category 4 storm and forecasters are warning that the slow-moving system could continue to dump rain for days, putting affected areas at heightened risk of lethal flooding and landslides.
Displacement is also a major concern as Kenneth destroyed up to 90 percent of homes in some villages.
“Cabo Delgado has no history of cyclones and we are deeply worried that communities in the area would not have been prepared for the scale of the storm, putting children and families in a very precarious position,” said Michel Le Pechoux, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Mozambique. “The soil is saturated with rain and the rivers are already swollen, so the emergency is likely to get worse from flooding in the next few days. We’re doing everything we can to get teams and supplies on the ground to keep people safe.”
UNICEF has advanced teams in Cabo Delgado specializing in health, nutrition, child protection, water and sanitation, and has prepositioned humanitarian supplies, including health kits and water purification supplies, to speed up the emergency response. Assessments are under way and the scale of the disaster will become clear over the coming days.
This is the first time in recorded history two strong tropical cyclones have hit Mozambique in the same season. Tropical Cyclone Kenneth follows on the heels of Tropical Cyclone Idai, which made landfall on March 14, leaving more than 600 people dead and an estimated 1.85 million people in need.
Devastation caused by cyclones Idai and Kenneth potentially could bring the cumulative number of children in need of humanitarian assistance to nearly 1.4 million in affected areas across the northern and central Mozambique. Following Cyclone Idai in March, UNICEF launched an appeal for $122 million to support its humanitarian response for children and families affected by the storm and its aftermath, in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi over the next nine months.
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Donation Page: www.unicefusa.org/kenneth
Photos from Cyclone Idai: https://uni.cf/2UJ8QHG
B-roll from Cyclone Idai: https://uni.cf/2IsbsDe
About UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, safe water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. UNICEF USA supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when no children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.
For more information, contact
Erica Vogel, UNICEF USA, 212.922.2480,evogel@unicefusa.org
Gabby Arias, UNICEF USA, 917.720.1306, garias@unicefusa.org