The first helicopter took off on Tuesday to deliver emergency food aid to Mozambique's northern coast since Cyclone Kenneth struck the region last week, the World Food Programme (WFP) said.
‘With Cyclone Kenneth hitting at the peak of the harvest season, the short, mid and long-term availability of food is worrisome,’ WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel said at a press briefing in Geneva.
The UN food agency plans to provide emergency food support for the next three months.
Even before the first air delivery, food supplies were delivered to 11,500 people by land after the cyclone barrelled into northern Mozambique on Thursday.
‘More rains are expected in the coming days, which will worsen flooding, damage to roads and render humanitarian access more challenging,’ Verhoosel said.
At least 38 people have been killed and almost 170,000 people have been affected by the tropical storm that has damaged thousands of homes, according to the National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC).
Cyclone Kenneth delivered another blow to Mozambique after Cyclone Idai killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands in the country last month.
