Mozambique island tourists woken by cyclone wrath (Charles Mangwiro)

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A cyclone killed four people and injured at least 70 in the resort town of Vilanculos.

By Charles Mangwiro

MAPUTO, Feb 24 (Reuters) -- Peter Thomas was peacefully sleeping in a lavish island resort off Mozambique when the full wrath of tropical cyclone Favio slammed into his chalet.

"I was in my room enjoying my sleep and suddenly found myself in a pool of water and the rooftop was being ripped off," the South African said in the capital Maputo after being airlifted from battered Bazaruto island.

"The front windows were smashed and I could see the roof and satellite dishes flying over our heads," said another tourist, who declined to be identified.

Thomas and other tourists who cowered for 12 hours in bathrooms at the Indigo Bay resort as the cyclone uprooted palm trees and ripped apart buildings were lucky.

At the hotel, 600km north of Maputo, no one died from the cyclone, which killed four people and injured at least 70 in the resort town of Vilanculos since hitting the coast on Thursday.