The rampage by Cyclone Chido through the Indian Ocean last week claimed at least 94 lives in Mozambique, up from an earlier 76, the country’s disaster management agency said.
The cyclone, which devastated the French island territory of Mayotte before hitting the African mainland, also destroyed 110,000 homes in Mozambique, officials said.
After making landfall, the storm ravaged the northern province of Cabo Delgado with gusts of around 160 miles per hour, pelting it with 10 inches of rain in a day.
Tropical storms regularly ravage that part of northern Mozambique, which is also wrestling with unrest from long-running terrorism.
The ruling Frelimo party’s presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo – whose win at the ballot box in October has been denounced by the opposition as fraudulent – paid a visit to the affected areas Sunday.
For the time being, Mozambique remains the country with the heaviest death toll. Meanwhile, the French Interior Ministry said 35 people died and some 2,500 injured on the archipelago Mayotte seven days down the line.
