Beira rebuilds: Engineer Ryan lends helping hand in Mozambique
Engineer Ryan Bragge of Umtentweni was one of many who flew in to Mozambique to assist in helping the cyclone-struck country. He shares his experiences.
Cyclone Idai hit the town of Beira in Mozambique late on Thursday night, March 14.
Winds of 200kph, with gusts in excess of 250kph, lashed the city and surrounds until 4am the following morning.
Residents, who had relatively little warning of the intensity of the storm, emerged to find a city devastated with roofs blown off, walls tore down, trees uprooted, electricity cut off, and sand and water everywhere.
All communication channels had been cut off and with water levels rising as Idai moved inland, road routes out of the region quickly disappeared.
Within the city, informal settlements were the worst hit having been built on wetlands, the only otherwise available space.
Inland of Beira, the villages and farming areas on the flood plains of the Pungwe and Buzi Rivers were swamped, making Beira the only town distinct from the air between the river basin and the Indian Ocean.
A presidential visit early the following week helped to speed up the influx of air support from numerous countries.
Having been requested to assist the Beira clean up, our party arrived in Beira on the evening of Monday, March 18.
The Aeroporto Internacional da Beira was abuzz with rescue helicopters and cargo planes bringing in aid, along with medical staff and press agencies, despite the airport itself having sustained serious wind damage.
Around the city, numerous iconic buildings from the pre-independence era had taken a pounding, testifying to the fact that Beira has not experienced a natural disaster of this scale for generations, perhaps not even since its initial establishment. Many more modern structures had faired even worse.
For many, the communication cut-off was extremely difficult to deal with and, in the days that followed, the strain started to show.
Sadly, as the cell signal started to return, so did threads of misinformation and drama-mongering, sending fresh panic into already traumatised residents.
Shortages of food, clean water and cash, inflated food prices and generally unhygienic conditions have added to the aftermath leading inevitably to looting by desperate residents, and hoarding and opportunism by isolated businesses.
The population of Beira is, however, recovering quickly to deal with the crisis.
From the morning after the cyclone, communities were consolidating in homes that were the least damaged to shelter from the ongoing rains.
Businesses began the clean-up immediately, for the most part addressing the needs of the most severely affected of their staff and families.
Since Beira’s general population has little in the way of outside resources, these businesses provide the only financial lifeline for the broader community.
As the economic wheel turns, much-needed finances are distributed among the people.
The restoration of road access to Zimbabwe via Chimoio at the end of last week means that food and other supplies can start to roll in.
After witnessing such desperate need it is somewhat difficult to adjust back to the South African way of life, where potholes and traffic can spoil our day.
Though the slide into our ‘normal’ is somewhat inevitable, let’s not forget our northern neighbours.
What is needed most is sustained support to help the local people survive the next twelve months and rebuild a life out of the ruins.
Aside from local drop-off points, finances will go a long way to achieving this. Donations can be made via the following web pages:
