Cyclone Idai help

March 19, 2019 4:39 PM

In view of events in Mozambique and beyond, I was wondering if there are Mefites who are knowledgeable about the region and who can advise on help.

There is not much more to this; the situation seems particularly dire in view of this:

Farmers in the region were about to harvest their maize crop when Idai hit, and many of their fields have been ruined, meaning widespread hunger in at least the year ahead.

Before poking around the internet, I was wondering if any Mefites know anything about the situation on the ground & can offer advice re. what actions might be useful, which charities would be best to support, any other way in which someone in Europe can offer any support.

Thanks a lot

posted by doggod to Human Relations (4 answers total)

Best answer: Laura Seay recommends Mozambiquean Red Cross and the Mozambique World Food Program, along with some other things in this twitter thread.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:11 PM on March 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Cyclone Idai has Affected 1.5 Million People - Here's How to Help the Victims (Newsweek)

Matthew Cochrane, a spokesman for International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told Newsweek: "This is the worst disaster in Mozambique’s history. Beira has been devastated, and areas surrounding the city have been completely inundated by floodwaters that are, in some places, meters deep… This is a major humanitarian emergency.” [...]

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimated it needed about $10 million to help the 75,000 people most profoundly affected by the crisis, Cochrane said. “Our priorities are to provide people with shelter and to ensure they have clean water and basic sanitation.”

Readers can support the IFRC’s work by donating online at The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimated it needed about $10 million to help the 75,000 people most profoundly affected by the crisis, Cochrane said. “Our priorities are to provide people with shelter and to ensure they have clean water and basic sanitation.”

Readers can support the IFRC’s work by donating online at https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/donate/.

Ramm explained that Save the Children would be distributing emergency items such as buckets, tarpaulins, jerricans and multi-purpose tents. “Cash donations are always the best way to help in disasters like this,” he said.

Readers can support Save the Children’s work in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe by donating online here.

Readers can also support UNICEF’s work in these countries—as well as those affected by other crises—by donating at donate.unicef.org.

posted by Little Dawn at 6:44 PM on March 19, 2019

Best answer: ‘Everything is destroyed’: Mozambique fears massive human toll from Cyclone Idai (WaPo)

Government and aid agency officials sounded the alarm on Tuesday after the first flights over a vast area of wreckage wrought by Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe, Malawi and especially Mozambique spurred fears of a massive human toll.

Five days have passed since the powerful storm landed a direct hit on Mozambique’s fourth-largest city, Beira, which was almost totally destroyed. [...] Heavy rains are expected to continue through the week. The United Nations estimated that more than 2.5 million people need immediate assistance. And with the crops and homes of thousands of families destroyed, a prolonged humanitarian crisis appeared inevitable. [...]

“There’s a sense from people on the ground that the world still really hasn’t caught on to how severe this disaster is,” Matthew Cochrane, a spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.

posted by Little Dawn at 6:48 PM on March 19, 2019

Best answer: PBS has more information about Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe and aid organizations operating in the area, including:

Doctors Without Borders is working to provide medical support and water sanitation in Mozambique, ZImbabwe and Malawi. You can make a general donation to their efforts here.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:15 PM on March 19, 2019