Turkey's state-run development assistance agency on Friday dispatched humanitarian aid to victims of the deadly tropical Cyclone Idai in Mozambique. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) distributed some 600 packages containing hygiene items in the Nhamatanda district of central Beira city.

TİKA was accompanied by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the National Medical Search Team (UMKE) and the Search and Rescue Association (AKUT).The hygiene packages aim to protect the local people against the risk of epidemics, especially cholera which is likely to emanate from contaminated water and food supplies.

In addition, TİKA will distribute food supplies to needy people in the area. Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique's port city of Beira on March 14 with winds of up to 177 kilometers per hour, killing several people in Mozambique and neighboring Zimbabwe.

According to U.N. statements and local media, tens of thousands of victims have lost their homes, crops have washed away and roads have been damaged across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Many areas in Mozambique remain without electricity, and almost all networks have been severely damaged, according to the U.N.