lightning
At least seven people died due to lightning strikes that hit several regions in Mozambique's central province Manica on Wednesday, the provincial governor announced on Thursday.

Five of the seven deaths occurred in the district of Mossurize, south of the province and the rest in the district of Manica, said the Governor of the Manica province Francisca Tomas at the opening of a meeting with non-governmental organizations in the province.

"In addition to the fatalities, bad weather, accompanied by rain and strong winds, destroyed several public and private infrastructures," said the governor, adding that a multisectoral team has been created to assess the level of destruction.

"What we can say is that there are seven dead and destruction of infrastructure. It is preliminary information and gradually we will have to update it properly," she said.

There are reports of the destruction of various infrastructures, interruption of access routes and fall of trees in the regions most affected by the rains, added the governor.