A Chinese rescue team flew for Mozambique on March 24 from Beijing to provide search and rescue support and medical and epidemic prevention assistance for the cyclone-hit country.

The 65-member team was dispatched, at the request of the Mozambique Government, by the Ministry of Emergency Management with the approval of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council.

Early in the morning on March 15 Beijing Time, tropical cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, causing devastating damages to people's lives and property with floods and landslides triggered by strong wind and heavy rain.

By March 24, Mozambique had reported 446 deaths from the disaster. The affected population has risen to more than 500,000.

Sources with the Ministry of Emergency Management said this was the first overseas rescue mission by a Chinese team since the set-up of the ministry last March.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 24, 2019)