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The Cyclones in Mozambique and Climate Change

by Yvonne Wabai | 01-05-2019 03:48


Cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons describe the same weather phenomenon, the difference is the location where they occur. Climate change has made cyclones more intense and more frequent.

You have no doubt have about Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Kenneth. These two cyclones occurred within weeks of each other in the same country: Mozambique. A cyclone as intense as Kenn eth has not been recorded in Mozambique before, and there is no record of two cyclones of this intensity striking Mozambique in the same season. Cyclone Idai killed more than 1000 people in Mozambique, destroyed the coastal city of Beira, and left hundreds of thousands of people displaced, homeless, and without food or electricity. Weeks later, Cyclone Kenneth struck after killing 4 people in Comoros. Kenneth killed 38 more people in Mozambique. Kenneth continues to dump huge amounts of rain in northeastern Mozambique, putting an estimated 750,000 people in the path of dangerous floods. 

Mozambique is categorized as a low and middle income country. It does not have the finamcial cushioning to adequately deal with the effects of climate change. Already, there are reports of women being sexually-exploited in exchange for food and water for their children. This brings in a larger conversation of climate justice and environmental racism, as it is developed nations that brought about climate change in the first place. Additionally, it brings out a link between gender disparity and climate injustice.