Tropical storm Dineo has killed seven people in Mozambique since it hit the eastern coast on Wednesday, the government disaster centre said on Thursday.

Mozambique’s emergency operational centre said in a statement about 130,000 people living in the Inhambane province, 500 km north of the capital Maputo, had been affected by the storm. About 20,000 homes were destroyed by heavy rains and fierce winds.

The government said the situation was less severe in Gaza, which borders South Africa, but that there were fears of flooding in the area.

(Reporting by Manuel Mucari; Editng by Angus MacSwan; Writing by Mfuneko Toyana)