Logistics community rallies to send relief to cyclone survivors in SE Africa

The logistics community is rallying to respond to the devastation in southeast Africa, where the residents have been reeling from the impact of Cyclone Idai, which struck the Mozambique coast on March 14 and moved west to Zimbabwe and Malawi in the following days. The official death toll of 500 people is expected to rise in the coming days, while thousands of people have been displaced from their homes.

The air cargo community has responded with donated flights to the region, carrying shipments of supplies, relief workers and other humanitarian aid. Denmark-based logistics company DSV, for instance, is providing support transporting emergency equipment from neighboring countries to Malawi, underpinning the Red Cross’ response.

“We have been providing support to Malawi for a few years, so we know that this is already a vulnerable area,” said Jesper Petersen, senior director, Group CSR at DSV. “There’s no doubt that we should be supporting, and the best way to do it is offering our transport expertise.”

Beira Airport was partially damaged by the storm and temporarily shut down, but according to the BBC it has reopened. It said that air force personnel from Mozambique and South Africa have also been called in to “fly rescue missions and distribute aid while roads are out of action.”

Humanitarian relief organization Airlink is another one of the major participants – working with over 20 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and more than 10 airlines, namely South African Airways, United, GlobalMedic and Medical Teams International, to organize a relief effort in all three countries.

“Our focus is on transporting relief workers and emergency supplies to provide clean water, repair shelters, give medical care to survivors, and provide other critical assistance as people and communities recover,” the organization said in a statement.

The devastation is continuing to worsen this week, with weather forecasters predicting heavy rainfall over Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, causing already swollen rivers to burst their banks and flooding to ensue, drowning entire villages, so the response is ongoing.

Those interested in making a donation via Airlink or its partners, please visit this Cyclone Idai response page.