A powerful cyclone has hit parts of Mozambique, killing at least seven people and forcing thousands families from their homes.

The state-controlled national broadcaster said on Monday that four districts in the northern Nampula province were being battered by heavy downpours and strong winds of up to 200km per hour.

Government officials said the storm, known as Cyclone Jokwe, was moving to the country's southern regions and they expected the death toll to increase.

Cyclone Jokwe, which made landfall on Saturday, has also destroyed thousands of dwellings, hundreds of schools and dozens of hospitals, the Institute for the Management of National Disasters said on Monday.

Paulo Zucula, the Institute's director, said Cyclone Jokwe was more dangerous than Cyclone Favio, which struck Mozambique last year.

Zucula said more floods could be expected as the cyclone is expected to move inland to areas in central Zambezia province already hit by floods earlier this year.

Further flooding

The cyclone was expected to lose intensity from Tuesday onwards, according to the national institute of meteorology (NIM).

Authorities in these regions have issued a red alert and invited people living in makeshift shelters to take refuge in public buildings.

Mozambique has been battling floods since January that have killed about 10 people and displaced another 100,000.

The rising waters destroyed more than 80,000 hectares of farmland, leaving some 250,000 people dependent on international food aid.

PHOTO CAPTION

Aerial photo taken in January 2008 show the Zambezi River passing the town of Tete in central Mozambique after floods took place in three river basins.

Al-Jazeera