The Cyclone Idai made land fall in Mozambique on Thursday, with winds of up to 177km/h (106 mph). It cut off more than 500,000 residents in the port city of Beira, one the country’s largest cities. Roads were flooded and the airport was shut down.
Rains and flooding ahead of the storm’s arrival had left about more than 120 people dead in Mozambique and Malawi.
Marooned on a mountain
In Zimbabwe, a state of emergency has been declared in affected areas after homes and bridges were washed away by the floodwaters.
A further 71 people are said to be missing and the death toll is expected to rise when the floodwaters subside.
The Charles Lwanga Secondary School in the mountainous district of Chimanimani has been closed and the army has been deployed to evacuate the 200 trapped pupils, according to the Department of Civil Protection.
More than 100 houses have been damaged in the town of Chimanimani, which was cut off on Saturday, according to Zimbabwe’s information ministry.
