The current rainy season, since October, has killed 198 people in Mozambique, the President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, announced yesterday in a Communication to the Nation.

A quarter of the deaths (53) occurred in the last week, between March 7 and 13, when Cyclone Freddy hit the country for the second time, particularly sacrificing the provincial capital of Quelimane and the province of Zambézia.

The head of state was speaking after visiting the region and announced the creation of a new technical-scientific commission.

It will be "a consultative body for issues related to climate change, including extreme events, analyzing the causes and effects," explained Nyusi, quoted by Lusa.

Filipe Nyusi hopes that the group of experts will recommend to the government "solutions for prevention, mitigation and adaptation" to extreme weather events.

For now, in the area affected by Cyclone Freddy, the priority is to support the 253,000 people affected - including the homeless and those who have suffered other damage - and to reactivate schools and other essential services.