Cyclone IDAI

In March 2019 the volunteers of VOST Portugal realized (the pet of curiosity and passion for meteorology) that a tragedy was heading for Mozambique... the Hurricane IDAI.

Thousands of miles away, and using the same philosophy as other activations, VOSTPT has launched itself into the challenge that is a real challenge. motto of the entity: “We do not save lives on the ground, but we give peace, security, tranquility, and life-saving advice, always with a sense of responsibility, always with the sole intention of helping others.”

In a tragedy As a hurricane, where localities have been wiped off the map and flooding and dyke bursting change the demographics, we understand it as a priority to create a form for family and friends to inform which residents in the affected area were trying to contact and since when they had no news and the last known location. Over the days, we have been updating the information – every time someone gave a sign of life – and we have been informing the Portuguese authorities and entities on the ground that could save them and/or locate the identified persons.

VOSTPT itself was able to locate more than 41 people and, together with a spontaneous group of residents in the city of Beira (“Rescue Beira”), More than 171 people.

It was the first time a VOST team had been activated in a natural disaster so far apart physically, and in a natural disaster with such a big impact. From this activation came several lessons that were shared in the project DRIVER+ of the European Union. (PDF).

With a network of contacts established on the ground, VOSTPT's work continued during the recovery effort, helping some NGOs identify needs and seek solutions