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Mozambique

Storm hits Nampula province of Mozambique

MAPUTO, Jan 30, 2004 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Over 2,000 houses and other buildings were destroyed by the passage of tropical storm "Elita" across the northern Mozambican province of Nampula on Thursday, local media reported Friday.

The most affected areas were in the districts of Memba, Nacala- a-Velha, and Mogincual, and Nampula city itself, where houses, mostly built in flimsy materials, were either completely destroyed, or severely damaged.

A local Islamic School in Nampula city suffered serious damage, alongside an unspecified number of other buildings of conventional material in some suburbs.

In Nacala-a-Velha, some families are reported as having spent that night in the open.

The Nampula provincial government met on Thursday to discuss ways of helping the affected families, and has decided to mobilize all the means at its disposal for that effect.

The storm is still causing heavy seas, and warnings to shipping have been issued along the entire Mozambican coast, from Cabo Delgado in the far north, down to Sofala in the center of the country.