An unprecedented cyclone hits a devastatingly poor country. At what point should other countries intervene? For India, the answer was made easier by serendipity: it happened to have three naval vessels in the Indian Ocean when Cyclone Idai struck Mozambiqueon March 14, killing more than 500 people.

Beira is still in mourning, still bearing the scars of sudden catastrophe. As the city tries to get back on its feet, its people are still trying to make sense of a singular storm that defied the rules of any they have ever known.