Even before the full extent of damage from Cyclone Idai is known, government and aid officials are calling it one of the worst natural disasters to hit southern Africa, perhaps even in the Southern Hemisphere, in decades.



The storm, which first struck Mozambique last Thursday before moving inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi, caused widespread flooding throughout the region. It has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Mozambique alone, and has affected more than a million lives in three of the world’s poorest countries.

Central Mozambique was hit particularly hard. Aid groups estimate that 90 percent of Beira, a port city that is home to about a half-million people was destroyed. In Buzi, the United Nations warned, rising floodwaters may partially submerge the town.

As rescue workers struggle to reach remote regions difficult to get to in even the best of circumstances, they are confronting obstacles like floods, debris and damaged roads and bridges.