A second week has begun of efforts to find and help tens of thousands of people after Cyclone Idai devastated parts of southern Africa.

Members of the Indian and South African militaries are joining aid groups in flying over stretches of central Mozambique as they look for signs of life and people in need.

No one knows how many people are missing. More than 600 people are confirmed dead in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Aid workers say that number is certain to rise as flood waters recede.

The shattered Mozambican city of Beira and other communities are now home to crowded displacement camps, both organised and informal.

With communications badly affected by the cyclone and some families separated in the chaos, a programme aimed at reunification is now underway.

Southern Africa cyclone Show all 16 1 /16 Southern Africa cyclone Southern Africa cyclone Soldiers and paramedics rush to a helicopter to carry injured survivors in Chimanimani about 600 kilometres south east of Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, March, 19, 2019. According to the government, Cyclone Idai has killed more than 100 people in Chipinge and Chimanimani and according to residents the figures could be higher because the hardest hit areas are still inaccessible. Some hundreds are dead, many more are missing, and some thousands at risk from the massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Southern Africa cyclone A man passes through a section of the road damaged by Cyclone Idai in Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Southern Africa cyclone Motorcycles pass through a section of a bridge damaged by Cyclone Idai in Nyamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Thursday March, 21, 2019. Some hundreds are dead, many more still missing and thousands at risk from massive flooding across the region including Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Southern Africa cyclone Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, left, visits Chimanimani, about 600km south east of Harare, Zimbabwe, Wednesday, March, 20, 2019. Mnangagwa visited a part of Chimanimnani affected by cyclone Idai and promised assitance in the form of food and rebuilding of homes. Hundreds are dead, many more missing and thousands at risk from massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Southern Africa cyclone A young girl sits on a floor at a displacement centre in Beira, Mozambique, Friday, March 22, 2019. A week after Cyclone Idai hit coastal Mozambique and swept across the country to Zimbabwe, its death, destruction and flooding continues to grow in southern Africa, making it one of the most destructive natural disasters in the region's recent history. AP(AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Southern Africa cyclone Kids scrape through for remaining rice inside a pot at a displacement centre in Beira, Mozambique, Friday, March 22, 2019. A week after Cyclone Idai hit coastal Mozambique and swept across the country to Zimbabwe, its death, destruction and flooding continues to grow in southern Africa, making it one of the most destructive natural disasters in the region's recent history (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Southern Africa cyclone Displaced families at a school in Beira, Mozambique, Friday, March 22, 2019. A week after Cyclone Idai hit coastal Mozambique and swept across the country to Zimbabwe, its death, destruction and flooding continues to grow in southern Africa, making it one of the most destructive natural disasters in the region's recent history. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Southern Africa cyclone A woman hangs a her wet clothes at a displacement centre in Beira, Mozambique, Friday, March 22, 2019. A week after Cyclone Idai hit coastal Mozambique and swept across the country to Zimbabwe, its death, destruction and flooding continues to grow in southern Africa, making it one of the most destructive natural disasters in the region's recent history (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Southern Africa cyclone People pass through a section of the road damaged by Cyclone Idai in Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Southern Africa cyclone In this photo taken Friday, March 22, 2019, men help dig for the body of 17-year-old Agreement Munanga, who died last Friday after Cyclone Idai caused mudslides in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/KB Mpofu) Southern Africa cyclone In this photo taken Friday, March 22, 2019, shows a policeman helping dig for the body of 17-year-old Agreement Munanga, who died last Friday after Cyclone Idai caused mudslides in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/KB Mpofu) Southern Africa cyclone In this photo taken Friday, March 22, 2019, men retrieve the body of 17-year-old Agreement Munanga, who died last Friday after Cyclone Idai caused mudslides in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/KB Mpofu) Southern Africa cyclone In this photo taken Friday, March 22, 2019, men retrieve the body of 17-year-old Agreement Munanga, who died last Friday after Cyclone Idai caused mudslides in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/KB Mpofu) Southern Africa cyclone In this photo taken Friday, March 22, 2019, children cross a stream in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/KB Mpofu) Southern Africa cyclone In this photo dated March 23, 2019, satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe, showing an aerial view of the city of Beira, on the shores of the Indian Ocean, Mozambique, after the cyclone. A second week has begun of efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people after Cyclone Idai devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company via AP) Southern Africa cyclone In this photo dated March 23, 2019, satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe, showing an aerial view of the city of Beira, on the shores of the Indian Ocean, Mozambique, after the cyclone impacted on the city. A second week has begun of efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people after Cyclone Idai devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company via AP)

“Every day we discover that the destruction left by Cyclone Idai is worse than we imagined,” Hicham Mandoudi, the International Committee of the Red Cross‘s head of sub-delegation in Beira, said in a statement.

“We are deeply concerned about remote communities that are cut-off by flooding and landslides and are yet to receive any humanitarian assistance. More rain is expected to come, which will compound the suffering of people who have already lost everything.”

Mozambique’s government has formally requested assistance from the international community, the UN humanitarian office said, opening the door to further aid efforts.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres on Thursday appealed for stepped up support for victims of Idai, saying the UN and its humanitarian partners are scaling up the response but “far greater international support is needed”.

The UN chief said in a statement that “with crops destroyed in the breadbasket of Mozambique more people are at risk of food insecurity in all three countries”.

Beira, the city at the centre of aid efforts for Mozambique, still can only be reached by land or sea. Local fishermen have joined the rescue efforts, ferrying stranded people about 50 or so at a time to the city’s beach or port.

With mobile phone communications struggling to return, some residents have lined an overpass known for having a better chance of receiving a signal.

Cyclone Idai wreaks havoc across Zimbabwe

Prices of food and other basic items are doubling, even tripling. People wait in line outside stores, let in one by one in an effort to prevent looting.

Throughout the region, emergency air efforts focus on spotting stranded people and communities in the hope of dropping aid or plucking those in dire need to safety.

There are signs of life in the inundated landscape, even smoke from some cooking fires.

As waters recede, however, aid workers expect the death toll to rise as bodies are found.

With water and sanitation systems largely destroyed, waterborne diseases are also a growing concern.