In the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, Mozambique's stories of loss and uprooted lives
Cyclone Idai washed away houses in the Cheia village of Mozambique, displacing people and unsettling lives.
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Maria Jofresse, 25, at a camp for the displaced in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai at John Segredo, near Beira, Mozambique, on 31 March, 2019. Jofresse lost both of her children to the storm. In the midst of the floods, she dug their small graves but can’t find them anymore. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra.
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UNICEF estimates that around 1.5 million children have been affected and need assistance. Here, Jofresse holds a stuffed toy she received for her seventh birthday as she stands where her house once stood. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra.
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Besides Mozambique, two other South African nations, Zimbabwe and Malawi, were also struck by the cyclone. Jofresse is seen in this picture with her mother-in-law Teresa Miquitaio, 49, who carries wood to build a makeshift shelter. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra.
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Cyclone Idai has been recorded as a Category 2 storm, the strongest ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. Jofresse carries aid packages at the camp for the displaced. More than 800 people were killed in the storm and rains. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra.
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The survivors have settled outside the village of Cheia, which means “flood” in Portuguese. It was named thus following the relocation of the flood-affected people to the area. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra.
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Jofresse’s father Joao, who works on a water taxi, returns from the opposite shore as Jofresse, her mother Ester Thoma, and other survivors wash themselves in the water of the Muda River. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra.
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Joao stands in front of his damaged house as he reflects on how they haven’t seen anyone from the government since the disaster struck. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra.
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Another survivor from Cheia, Tchacaca Quembo, stands outside her damaged house. In 2000, Quembo’s home in the community of Quanuno was wrecked by severe floods. In March 2019, Cyclone Idai hit her new home. She explains that the wind ripped the roof off her house, and she survived by standing inside her bedroom, in the water from Friday to Sunday. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra.
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Luisa Antonio, 14, stands at her damaged house. She narrates her life’s aspirations of wanting to be a teacher or policewoman; but since she doesn’t have a father to support her, she will stop studies at the 6th grade and aims to be married by the age of 16, to escape poverty. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra.
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