Reference :
V-P-MZ-E-00185
Date :
18/02/2020
Caption :
Bairro de Unidade, resettlement camp. A man shows the scars of the wounds he got from climbing and staying on a tree after jumping in the water in an attempt to rescue one of his daughters, during the passage of Cyclone Idai in 2019. In addition to the psychological wounds caused by the loss of three of his daughters, he has suffered with these physical injuries that prevent him from farming and undertake any kind of manual labor.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
This man was awakened by the water that flooded his house. He had to leave his home with his wife and five children and managed to climb a tree. However, one of his children fell into the water and he could not save her. He then managed to climb another tree and stayed there for four days, injured all over his body by thorns. During those four days, apart from his family, two of his daughters fell from the tree and have been missing ever since. He struggled psychologically because he felt he was abandoning his wife and daughters at a time when they needed him the most. He believes that his three daughters died during the cyclone. He never found their bodies. His wife left him and took the two surviving children with her.
ICRC website, photo gallery, 13.03.2020
Cyclone Idai: Families pay their respects to lost loved ones one year on
It has been one year since Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi affecting over three million people across the three southern African countries. Over a thousand people lost their lives as flood waters swept their homes away. While other disaster response teams provided much needed emergency aid in the form of shelter and food, water and medical intervention, the ICRC’s forensics team had the arduous task of recovering the dead and helping with safe and dignified burials. In the immediate aftermath, the ICRC distributed shelter kits, blankets and food in coordination with the World Food Programme to meet the most urgent needs. The organization also distributed seeds and agricultural tools to help families replant their crops in order to sustain themselves in the long term. Health centres and prisons affected by the floods were rehabilitated and water supply was restored to communities cut off from access.
The forensics team worked with local authorities to promote best practice on standardized data collection of the missing and dead and supported the Mozambican forensic authorities to draft contingency plans on safe and dignified burials. One year on, the ICRC accompanied some of the families that lost their relatives as they visited the graves of their loved ones to pay their respects.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
3500x2333
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
