SA offers Mozambique assistance

A major clean-up operation is underway

South Africa is to help Mozambique cope with the aftermath of a powerful cyclone which hit the country as it was trying to recover from serious floods.

At least three people were killed and 70 injured in Thursday's cyclone and hundreds of homes were destroyed.

South Africa is offering helicopters to carry food to people in temporary camps and to allow Mozambican officials to assess the damage from the air.

Mozambique is still recovering from severe flooding in the Zambezi valley.

An estimated 120,000 people were left homeless as the waters rose, and there have been fears that the cyclone could only worsen the flooding.

Cyclone Favio hit land in Inhambane province, tearing down electricity pylons and ripping the roof from a jail in the town of Vilanculos, allowing hundreds of prisoners to escape.

A huge clean-up operation is currently underway in some of Mozambique's most popular resorts, which were also hit hard.

The Mozambique authorities went into a state of high alert as the cyclone approached, and thousands of people were moved into tented camps.

The cyclone gradually lost power as it travelled westward to Zimbabwe, where the authorities issued a flood warning.