Red Cross says Mozambique's Beira port hard hit by cyclone

JOHANNESBURG – The Red Cross says that as much as 90 percent of Mozambique's central port city of Beira has been damaged or destroyed by tropical Cyclone Idai.

Officials with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Monday that Beira has been severely battered by the cyclone which cut off electricity and road access to the city of 500,000. The city's airport has been closed by the storm.

Cyclone Idai first hit Beira last week and then moved inland spreading heavy winds and rainfall to Zimbabwe and Malawi. Red Cross and government officials estimate that more than 150 people have been killed by the storm, hundreds more are missing and more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the widespread destruction and flooding.