Zimbabwe death toll rises after cyclone Idai

More than a hundred people have died in Zimbabwe after Cyclone Idai tore across the eastern and southern parts of the country, a government official said on Monday, creating a humanitarian crisis in a nation grappling with economic woes and a drought.

The scale of destruction is only becoming apparent as rescuers reach the most affected areas, near the border with Mozambique.

In Zimbabwe, houses and bridges were washed away by flash floods caused by the storm in eastern Chimanimani district, the hardest-hit area.

Roads were reportedly swallowed by massive sinkholes, while bridges were ripped to pieces by the flash floods.

Initially, high winds and dense clouds frustrated efforts to access the affected areas by helicopter. But the Zimbabwean government said the weather on Sunday had cleared and rescue operations had begun.

Soldiers helped rescue nearly 200 students, teachers, and staff who were caught in the flood waters and trapped at their school in Chimanimani.

The United Nations says more than 100 people have died in weeks of heavy rain and flooding in Mozambique and Malawi, where villages were left underwater.

Local officials say the body count is expected to rise.

Rescuers are struggling to reach people in Chimanimani, many of whom have been sleeping in the mountains since Friday after their homes were flattened by rock falls and mudslides or washed away by torrential rains. Many families cannot bury the dead due to the floods.

The government has declared a state of disaster in areas affected by the storm, the worst to hit the country since Cyclone Eline devastated eastern and southern Zimbabwe in 2000.

The country of 15 million people is already suffering a severe drought that has wilted crops. A United Nations humanitarian agency says 5.3 million people will require food aid.

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) began operations to provide food aid in the wake of Cyclone Idai. The WFP has estimated that at least 1.25 million people were in the path of the storm.

The organization is planning to airdrop supplies and use boats to bring food to those in need.