Power outage, schools destroyed in Mozambique's Beira
Residents of the Mozambican city of Beira have been cut off from the outside world, after tropical cycloneIdai made landfall last night.
The storm has downed power cables in that city.
In the coastal town of Chinde - some 400 kilometres from Beira - a hospital and seven schools have lost their roofs and four houses have been destroyed.
Efforts to assess the damage are ongoing.
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A team of paramedics from South Africa is headed to the disaster area, while Pietermaritzburg-based NGO Gift of the Givers has also put its relief teams on standby.
Founder and chairman Dr Imtiaz Sooliman says when working in areas affected by cyclones - they expect the accompanying volumes of water to wreak havoc.
Sooliman says another concern is the collapse of housing and infrastructure.
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"If houses start collapsing - there could be crush injuries. We will then have to send out specialised orthopaedics and general surgery teams. We are hoping that doesn't happen - but id it does happen we have teams on standby to send in."
The South African Weather Service says there is light rainfall forecast for the north-west of KZN - as a result of Idai's tail passing over the region - but that we're not expected to experience any of the extreme conditions being experienced across our borders.
At least 126 people have been confirmed dead as a result of floods that hit parts of Southern Africa region this week - ahead of Idai.
Some of the deaths occurred in KwaZulu-Natal following weekend heavy rains.