Maputo, Jan 27 (IANS): At least 18 people died due to the tropical storm Ana, which devastated the centre and north of Mozambique, announced the spokesman of the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD) Paulo Tomas, on Thursday.

The spokesperson was speaking through a live broadcast on Radio Mozambique on Thursday morning, to disclose the preliminary assessment of the damage caused by the storm, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Among these deaths, eight occurred in Zambezia province, three in Nampula province, four in Tete and three in Manica province," said Tomas.

According to the spokesperson, the storm partially or fully destroyed over 10,000 houses, and 391 more were flooded. Twelve hospital units were damaged, and 137 schools were affected, which may compromise the classes of 27,386 students.

Some districts that were affected are also suffering from power outages, he said.

Eight accommodation centrse had been created in the central and northern parts of the country, where those displaced could receive humanitarian assistance, said the spokesperson.

"Some of these people went to the accommodation centers voluntarily, when there were actions to raise awareness of leaving the risk zones", he said.

The INGD teams are still on the ground carrying out a further assessment of the risks and damage caused by the storm.