"Fears are growing for more than 500,000 people in the Mozambique city of Beira, after aid agency officials warned that 90% of the area had been 'destroyed' by Cyclone Idai.

The cyclone slammed into the southeast African country as a high-end Category 2 storm with 175 kph (110 mph winds) at midnight Thursday, causing widespread devastation, before moving inland into Zimbabwe and Malawi.

In an address on national radio Monday, Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi warned that while the official death toll stood at 84, 'everything indicates that we can have a record of more than 1,000 dead.'

Nyusi described seeing 'bodies floating' in the water after two rivers broke their banks 'wiping out entire villages ' and isolating others. 'It's a real humanitarian disaster of large proportions,' said Nyusi."

Jenni Marsh, Bukola Adebayo, and Vasco Cotovio report for CNN March 19, 2019. [2]