By Kristina Pydynowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
By Eric Leister, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Tropical Cyclone Idai brought deadly flooding to parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi after making landfall in central Mozambique Thursday night, local time.
Idai barreled onshore north of Beira, Mozambique, with its strength equivalent to a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific oceans.
The Red Cross has reported that more than 215 people were killed in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi as a result of the powerful tropical cyclone. The organization estimates that more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the storm.
Local officials in Zimbabwe reported that at least 89 people were killed and nearly 200 others remain missing in the eastern part of the nation due to the cyclone as of Monday.
This satellite image of Idai was taken on Thursday, March 14, 2019, just prior to the intense tropical cyclone slamming into central Mozambique. (NASA/MODIS Satellite)
Idai first tracked into north-central Mozambique as a tropical depression with torrential rain during the first week of March before moving back over water and rapidly strengthening over the northern Mozambique Channel last weekend and early this week.
The Red Cross reports that communications have been severed in Beira, Mozambique's fourth-largest city. The 500,000 residents of the city are also without electricity. Early reports indicate roughly 90 percent of the city has been destroyed.
Access to the city has been limited as all roadways to and from the city have been destroyed or submerged by flood waters.
The city's airport remained closed on Monday, with access limited to helicopters
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Photos emerging from the area show streets littered with downed trees and damage. Recovery efforts are likely to take weeks or even months due to the extensive damage.
Other communities along the coastline in the northern Zambezi provinces have been cut off from the mainland by storm surge flooding, according to Reuters.
While Idai has weakened into a tropical rainstorm over Mozambique, residents of Mozambique and neighboring Zimbabwe should not let their guard down.
Idai can continue to unload torrential and flooding rain over these areas into Wednesday.
Additional flooding can occur in and around the higher terrain along the eastern border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. These areas can face the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 760 mm (30 inches), leading to communities being inundated with flood waters and life-threatening mudslides.
Drier weather is expected to slowly build into the region later this week and this weekend aiding ongoing recovery efforts.
Download the free AccuWeather app to remain aware of any flooding rain threatening your community.
Cyclone Idai: Winds above 60 km / hour accompanied by rains above 200 mm in 24 hours yesterday affected Beira and a few other districts of central Mozambique. Displaced families are desperate and need our support. .@ALMALondonD , @AngliAlliance, @IDMW54 , @pauloueti
See Carlos Novela's other Tweets
Anticipated heavy rains & strong winds due to Tropical cyclone IDAI in ZIM. Pictures show the impact in MOZAMBIQUE. @OMpslsw @ZimbabweSocial @InfoMinZW @MoHCCZim @NkosiDibiti @METHI_Zimbabwe @Enviro_Reports @UNEnvironment #CycloneIdai #harare #zimbabwe #manicaland #Cyclones
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#Mozambique : One death reported in Manica; Beira bears the brunt as Cyclone Idai makes landfall ow.ly/RCfc30o3mly
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Just In: Communications cut after Cyclone #Idai lashes Beira: city flooded and infrastructure damaged – preliminary reports #Mozambique ow.ly/IujM30o3iMF
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Idai first tracked into north-central Mozambique as a tropical depression with torrential rain during the first week of March before moving back over water and rapidly strengthening over the northern Mozambique Channel last weekend and early this week.
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While Idai has weakened into a tropical rainstorm over Mozambique, residents of Mozambique and neighboring Zimbabwe should not let their guard down.
Drier weather is expected to slowly build into the region later this week and this weekend aiding ongoing recovery efforts.
Cyclone Idai: Winds above 60 km / hour accompanied by rains above 200 mm in 24 hours yesterday affected Beira and a few other districts of central Mozambique. Displaced families are desperate and need our support. .@ALMALondonD , @AngliAlliance, @IDMW54 , @pauloueti
See Carlos Novela's other Tweets
Anticipated heavy rains & strong winds due to Tropical cyclone IDAI in ZIM. Pictures show the impact in MOZAMBIQUE. @OMpslsw @ZimbabweSocial @InfoMinZW @MoHCCZim @NkosiDibiti @METHI_Zimbabwe @Enviro_Reports @UNEnvironment #CycloneIdai #harare #zimbabwe #manicaland #Cyclones
20 people are talking about this
#Mozambique : One death reported in Manica; Beira bears the brunt as Cyclone Idai makes landfall ow.ly/RCfc30o3mly
See Club of Mozambique's other Tweets
Just In: Communications cut after Cyclone #Idai lashes Beira: city flooded and infrastructure damaged – preliminary reports #Mozambique ow.ly/IujM30o3iMF
31 people are talking about this
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