More than 500 houses have been damaged by a major storm which swept through Mozambique’s port city of Beira in the central province of Sofala on Saturday, APA learns here on Sunday. According to state-controlled weekly Sunday paper, Domingo, the storm coincided with high tides and the sea smashed across coastal defences, swamping the neighbourhood of Praia Nova and at least 380 people who were driven from the worst hit houses and had to seek shelter in safer places. According to Domingo, some of the storm victims were provisionally housed in a school and a sports stadium before the government relief agency, the National Disasters Management Institute (INGC), provided 20 large tents, plus food and hygiene materials for three days. The INGC Beira delegate, Bento Joao, said the storm also hit the Nhangau administrative post, 30 kilometres north of Beira but figures on the number of people affected there are not readily available. The National Meteorology Institute (INAM) said that the situation resulted from exceptionally high tides accompanied by a cold front bringing stormy weather to the Beira area. The winds which hit the city reached speeds of 70 kilometres an hour, causing heavy winds in the Mozambique Channel, with waves over seven metres high on Friday morning.