Mozambique Situation Report: Impact of Tropical Cyclone Jude as of March 2025

Tropical Cyclone Jude made landfall in Mozambique on March 10, 2025, causing significant damage and displacement. The humanitarian response is strained due to previous cyclones. Accommodation centers have been activated in Nampula and Zambézia, with urgent needs for food, shelter, and health services. Efforts to improve living conditions and support education recovery are critical as families face challenging circumstances.

On March 6, 2025, a low-pressure system formed in the southwestern Indian Ocean, leading to the tropical cyclone named Jude. The cyclone made landfall on March 10 in Mossuril, Nampula province, with winds reaching 195 km/h and rainfall exceeding 250 mm in a 24-hour period. Its arrival caused extensive damage to infrastructure, resulting in fatalities, injuries, community displacements, and escalating humanitarian demands in both urban and rural areas.

Humanitarian response efforts in northern Mozambique are currently overwhelmed as they are responding to the impacts of two prior cyclones, Chido and Dikeledi, which occurred in December 2024 and January 2025, respectively. Following the activation of anticipatory actions for floods and cyclones by the Technical Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management on March 8, the CCCM began its response activities on March 9 in Angoche and Mogincual. These actions included pre-positioning tools for repairs, disseminating messages to communities, collaborating with disaster risk reduction committees, and supporting INGD.

In the aftermath of the cyclone, local authorities activated accommodation centers in Nampula and Zambézia provinces, and site management teams were sent to assist with initial needs assessments and coordination. Initial assessments by CCCM and DTM teams discovered 59 temporary accommodation facilities across nine districts in Nampula and one in Zambézia. However, most sites are not yet officially recognized as accommodation centers, which creates challenges for effective assistance and requires heightened collaboration between the CCCM Cluster, CCCM/DTM teams, CLGRD, and local authorities.

Many affected families resort to night commuting, utilizing temporary accommodation in various locations such as barracks, schools, churches, unfinished buildings, and neighbors’ homes while attempting to rehabilitate their damaged residences.

Apart from urgent needs like food, water, shelter, and health services, there is an imperative to enhance living conditions for the affected populations in temporary accommodations. This includes adopting practices for dignified living environments, improving coordination, ensuring fire safety, and providing basic facilities such as handwashing stations and communal toilets to alleviate waiting times for assistance. The cyclone has also adversely impacted education by repurposing schools as shelters, underscoring the importance of coordinated action to facilitate education recovery for displaced children.

The CCCM Cluster is actively updating the list of temporary accommodation facilities in collaboration with DTM and local authorities. However, as families continue to vacate these facilities, there is an anticipation of both planned and unplanned deactivations due to challenging living conditions.

The situation resulting from Tropical Cyclone Jude in Mozambique necessitates immediate humanitarian interventions to address the urgent needs of affected communities, particularly in temporary accommodation facilities. Established coordination between relevant authorities and organizations is crucial for effective assistance, alongside efforts to restore education and enhance living conditions for displaced families. Proactive measures must be taken to improve both the physical infrastructure and essential services to support recovery in the wake of this disaster.

Original Source: reliefweb.int