Flooding feared as heavy rains hits Mozambique

A powerful cyclone has smashed into Mozambique, flattening thousands of homes and flooding low-lying areas.

Cyclone Kenneth struck with winds of 220km/h (140mph) barely a month after a previous cyclone killed hundreds and devastated large areas.

Heavy rain continued to fall on Friday, raising fears of more floods.

Authorities have advised people to move to higher ground amid concern that thousands may be trapped in remote villages.

Kenneth hit a country still struggling with the aftermath of Cyclone Idai which hit further south along the coast in March, flooded huge areas of territory and killed more than 1,000 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Kenneth is forecast to bring twice as much rain in Mozambique’s north, prone to flooding and landslides, over the coming days, the U.N. World Food Programme has warned.

The government and aid agencies said 30,000 people had been moved to safety and a total of almost 700,000 were at risk.

Cyclone Kenneth had already killed three people on the island nation of Comoros. At least one person has been reported dead in Mozambique after being crushed by a falling tree.

UN weather experts say it is unprecedented for two cyclones of such intensity to hit Mozambique in the same season.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) also said that no previous records show a cyclone striking the region as far north as Kenneth.

It said a fact-finding mission would examine the "impact of climate change and sea-level rise on Mozambique's resilience" to extreme weather.

CARE said the government had set up 20 evacuation centers in Pemba, but planes were needed as many of the affected areas were not accessible by road.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) posted a picture of a bridge that had been washed away, severing the main road that runs through the district of Macomia, which officials said had suffered heavy damage.

Mozambican officials said there were reports of damaged houses from the district of Muidumbe, further inland, but the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) noted that communications were still largely down there.