Secretary-General's press encounter on Cyclone Idai [full transcript].

Ladies and Gentlemen of the media. Thank you very much for your presence.

Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi have suffered one of the worst weather-related catastrophes in the history of Africa.

In an already intense storm season, Tropical Cyclone Idai delivered a direct, one-two punch of wind and flooding across a vast area long experiencing poverty and drought.

We have all seen the heartbreaking images:

- raging waters;

- people stranded on rooftops;

- schools, hospitals and homes in ruins;

- an entire city -- Beira -- practically razed to the ground;

- and, enormous expanses of farmland -- Mozambique's breadbasket -- inundated on the eve of the next harvest.

The death toll across the three countries is at least 700, but with hundreds still missing.

The devastation has affected an estimated three million people, nearly two-thirds of them in Mozambique.

At least one million children need urgent assistance - and this number may well grow.

We fear that whole villages have been washed away in places we have yet to reach.

There are reports that US$1 billion worth of infrastructure has been destroyed.

In many of the affected areas, electricity remains out.

Goods are scarce or unaffordable. In Beira, a box of tomatoes that cost about 500 meticals one week ago now costs up to five times that much.

And while a break in the downpours is welcome news, the risk of further rains and flooding remains.

Today I want to reiterate my complete solidarity with the people and Governments of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Emergency teams from the United Nations and our partners were on the ground from the start of the crisis.

Under extremely difficult conditions, we have been air-dropping emergency kits that contain food, medicine, water purification gear, and shelter to communities that are still stranded by the flood waters.

We have reached 100,000 people with food assistance and are scaling up to reach many, many more. The head of the World Food Programme is travelling to Mozambique as we speak.

We are flying drones to support disaster management authorities as they map out needs across the affected areas.

We are racing to prevent the spread of potentially deadly diseases. Stagnant waters, lack of hygiene and overcrowding are breeding grounds for diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and malaria. And we have heard today the appeal of the Mozambican related to cholera.

And we are working to protect children and ensure as little disruption to their education as possible.

I want to pay tribute to the humanitarian colleagues who are working around the clock to gain access to people in need, including in previously cut-off areas.

Our efforts are now turning to life-saving aid and reconstruction.

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund immediately allocated $20 million to help kick-start the response, in a decision that was immediately taken by my Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock.

Other countries have indicated support, for...

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