WFP Chief Heading to Mozambique to Assess Cyclone Devastation

U.N. World Food Program Director David Beasley is traveling to Mozambique Tuesday to draw attention to the devastation caused by the cyclone that recently struck the area of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi in the southeastern part of Africa.

The trip comes a day after the top U.N. aid chief said the United Nations is appealing for $282 million to help the victims of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique.

The cyclone’s heavy winds and rains killed at least 750 people in Mozambique and neighboring Malawi and Zimbabwe and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said appeals for Malawi and Zimbabwe would be coming in the next few days.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has also launched an appeal for $30.5 million to provide life-saving aid for 200,000 of the most vulnerable survivors in Mozambique.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense said it will provide $6.5 million in immediate humanitarian assistance to Mozambique.