Turkish aid agency sends food to cyclone-hit Mozambique

BEIRA, Mozambique

Turkey's state aid agency on Monday provided 233 families with food in cyclone-hit Mozambique.

"We help the homeless families who are placed in schools and public institutions after the cyclone, in coordination with the Mozambique Red Cross,” Bora Atlihan, the team leader of Turkish Red Crescent told Anadolu Agency.

Atlihan said the Red Crescent has been in Beira for a week and distributed humanitarian aid.

He highlighted the agency has so far provided 436 families with food and 175 families with hygiene kits.

Atlihan emphasized it is planning to build a tent city in Beira.

Cyclone made landfall in Mozambique's port city of Beira on March 14 with winds of up to 110 miles (177 kilometers) per hour. It killed at least 534 people in Mozambique, according to local media.

The combined death toll in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe now stands at more than 740, according to media reports.

The UN said the cyclone displaced about 110,000 people, forcing them to take shelter in camps across central Mozambique.

More than 17,500 houses were damaged by the cyclone.

The cyclone washed away crops and roads were damaged across the three African countries.

Many areas in Mozambique remain without electricity, and almost all networks have been severely damaged, according to the UN.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar