"In early March, people who live along Mozambique's long coastline began to hear rumors about a cyclone.

The storm was forming in the Indian Ocean, in the narrow band of warm water between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. Overnight on March 14, 2019, the storm struck Mozambique head-on, barreling over the port city of Beira and flooding an enormous swath of land as it moved inland toward Zimbabwe.

In low-lying, rural Buzi district, the wind arrived like an explosion. It tore the roofs off homes and schools and churches. It ripped trees out by their roots. When the floodwaters came the next day, there were perilously few high spots left where people could escape."

Rebecca Hersher reports for NPR December 27, 2019. [2]