Indian Navy joins disaster relief operations in Mozambique

The Indian Navy took part in the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in Mozambique, after cyclone Idai caused catastrophic flooding in the region.

Officers from the rescue team were seen helping people stranded in the floodwaters to higher ground. They were also seen delivering food, water, medical aid and other essential supplies to relief camps by helicopter.

Cyclone Idai battered Beira, a port city of 500,000 people, with strong winds and torrential rains last week, causing the Buzi and Pungwe rivers to burst their banks.

Roads into Beira were cut off by the storm and wide swathes of the Indian Ocean port city also lost power.

The cyclone has killed 242 people in Mozambique and 259 in Zimbabwe, and numbers are expected to rise.