5 killed as Cyclone Kenneth slams into Mozambique

Authorities in Mozambique have urged citizens to "seek higher ground" to avoid the flooding and mudslides that are sure to come in the aftermath of Cyclone Kenneth.

Prime Minister Carlos Do Rosario said the death toll from Kenneth stands at five. Before reaching Mozambique, Kenneth swept over the island nation of Comoros, killing three people.

Mozambique's National Institute of Disaster Management said Kenneth has destroyed more than 3,000 houses and displaced more than 18,000 people.

The government said most of the homes on the Mozambican island of Ibo, home to about 6,000 people, were destroyed.

"Ninety-five percent of the homes on Ibo have been destroyed -- not only roofs blowing off, but down to the ground," Kevin Record, an Ibo hotel owner, told CNN. "The situation remains dire."

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to provide support for short-, medium- and long-term needs of affected communities.

"The Secretary-General is deeply saddened at reports of loss of lives and destruction in Mozambique and Comoros as a result of Tropical Cyclone Kenneth, six weeks after Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe," Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said in a statement Sunday.

On Sunday, the United Nations released $13 million to "provide lifesaving food, shelter, health, water and sanitation assistance to people affected by Tropical Cyclone Kenneth in Comoros and Mozambique."

Kenneth is the second cyclone to hit the southern African country within six weeks.