“The goal of the mission is to make as rigorous as possible a diagnosis about the conditions of the Portuguese community in Mozambique, namely in the region of Beira, he said. “We are talking about a region and a consular jurisdiction the size of the entire Iberian Peninsula, which does not have any communications at this time.”

The group that departed to Mozambique include members of the country’s National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC), National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) and Instituto Camões.

Carneiro explained that between Friday and Saturday there will be more members joining from the Ministry of the Environment responsible for possibly “speeding up health mechanisms” and also with a “reinforced team of the director-general of consular affairs.”

Carneiro stressed that the bad weather will continue, and it is necessary to make an assessment “as thorough as possible.”

He said that the Portuguese state has “pre-positioned means to be mobilised when there are conditions to do so,” adding the importance of Portugal to articulate the necessary aid with the European Union.

As for Portuguese people, Carneiro reaffirmed that he has no information about victims or missing people but stressed that it is still too early to give assurances.

The passage of Cyclone Idai across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe has already killed over 300 people, according to provisional data released by their respective governments.

Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, on Tuesday announced that more than 200 people have died and 350,000 “are at risk,” having decreed the state of national emergency.

With heavy rains and winds of up to 170km/h, the storm reached Beira, the fourth largest city in Mozambique on Thursday night, leaving approximately 500,000 residents without power and communication lines.

The International Red Cross said that at least 400,000 people are displaced in Beira due to the cyclone, calling it the “worst humanitarian crisis in the country.”