Cyclone Freddy caused five deaths in the city of Quelimane, in the center of the country, according to preliminary information from the mayor, Manuel Araújo, who describes a scene of destruction.

"We have at least five deaths," according to preliminary information provided by the mayor, who is still trying to reconfirm the data, despite the difficulties experienced on the ground, given that there is no power or telecommunications.

According to Manuel Araújo, two people died when precarious houses collapsed, another two were caught by a falling tree and the fifth fatality was surprised by a boat thrown out of the Bons Sinais river.

In one of the streets of Quelimane, residents carry one of the dead, covered in blankets, in the heavy rain.

They face the weather, saying they will take him to the city hospital morgue.

"I've never seen anything like it," Manuel Araújo told Lusa, noting that the force of the storm was such that the river waters "threw an entire boat over the bridge at the fishing port".

Throughout the municipality and surrounding areas, the roofs of buildings have been ripped off, walls and fences have collapsed, electricity pylons and trees are down and countless precarious houses have been torn apart by the intensity of the rain and wind.

The city's hospital lost its roof, leaving several patients in the rain, who have since been transferred to covered spaces, the mayor describes.

Quelimane is built on "a swamp area, there are no elevated areas" and "even the centers that had been prepared are flooded", so the schools are the only safe places and they house a lot of people, he said.

Other residents wander through the rubble in the outlying neighborhoods, trying to salvage what they can.

The peak of the storm "happened around 8pm" on Saturday, "that's when a lot of houses fell down", says Justino Magro, from Bairro do Aeroporto.

Now, in the middle of the precarious house he built, he picks up the remains of furniture and belongings.

Aira Oliveira confirms the time of the worst phase of the storm: "After 7pm we saw a lot of things flying."

"We haven't slept a wink, it's tragic and we need a lot of help," she said.

Lourenço Ribeiro, another resident, points to the strong wind as the main culprit, after the heavy rain that had been falling since Friday.

"It was very windy, so much so that it blew almost all the roofs off the houses," he said.

A warehouse belonging to the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD) that stored 40 tons of food for humanitarian aid has also lost part of its roof and water is now threatening to ruin the bags of supplies.

The authorities recommend that people stay in sheltered areas.

The INGD has opened shelters and has issued warnings for the population to leave precarious homes and riverside areas, which are usually subject to flooding.

Cyclone Freddy has now lost strength and is now a tropical storm, but it is still expected to cause heavy rain until Wednesday in central Mozambique, so the threat of flooding remains.

This is the second time that the storm has hit the country, after a first strike on February 24, causing 10 deaths due to adverse conditions over several days.