Turkish NGO brings aid to storm-hit southeastern Africa

An Istanbul-based aid agency announced on Monday that it delivered humanitarian aid to 8,500 cyclone victims in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

According to a statement by the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), the aid group provided the storm-hit region with basic needs including various food and sanitation supplies to disaster victims in Mozambique's province of Sofala as well as the town of Mulanje in southern Malawi.

The agency said relief efforts were ongoing for Zimbabwe where supplies would be distributed "as soon as possible".

More than 2 million people have been affected by the cyclone in roughly 3,000 square kilometers, the statement said.

An outbreak in cholera and malaria was witnessed in the cyclone-hit regions. A total of 446 people in Mozambique, 56 people in Malawi and about 250 people in Zimbabwe lost their lives, it said.

Cyclone Idai, made landfall in Mozambique's port city of Beira on March 14 with winds of up to 110 miles (177 kilometers) per hour, leading to hundreds of deaths.

According to UN statements and local media, tens of thousands have lost their homes, crops washed away and roads damaged across the three countries.

Many areas in Mozambique remain without electricity, and almost all networks have been severely damaged, according to the UN.