WATCH: 16 dolphins stranded on beach after #Dineo pummels Mozambique

Fragments of roof‚ twisted corrugated iron‚ trees snapped in half and stranded dolphins were among the sights that greeted residents in parts of Mozambique on Thursday after an overnight pummelling from Cyclone Dineo.

Property owners were left with the hard work of cleaning up debris in and around Inhambane.

Updates about the damage caused overnight trickled in due to communication disruptions caused by the storm.

• LIVE: We track Dineo as storm heads to SAWe track the formidable storm system known as Dineo as it heads through Mozambique and prepares to strike parts of South Africa. 

Bonito Bay holiday resort owner Russel Edmunds posted pictures on Facebook of downed trees and a bakkie parked under a collapsed thatched roof in Morrungulo.

He said roads were closed and water towers had been blown down.

“Fortunately my staff are good builders... most of the infrastructure at Bonito Bay is still intact... wish I could say the same for the trees. We suffered some damage but it could have been a lot worse... weeks of cleaning up lie ahead... roads are blocked‚ water tower was blown over. Thanks to the guys who stuck it out and helped prepare for what was to come‚” he posted.

• WATCH: Incredible time-lapse of #Dineo hitting MozambiqueWatch this incredible time-lapse of Dineo hitting Maputo Bay in Mozambique on Wednesday. 

Eight dolphins‚ including two juveniles‚ died in Inhassoro early on Thursday. Derek Flaxman of Cashew-Bay Lodge shared a video of a small rescue party splashing water on the beached animals.

“I went to put our beach light on at about 01:30 and I heard a noise. I didn't know what it was and went down to the beach. A pod of 16 dolphins‚ including two babies‚ were stranded on the beach‚” he said.

Flaxman and his wife Wendy could not move the creatures back to sea alone. “We got a team of about six people together and we got some tarpaulins and rolled the dolphins back to sea‚ taking them into chest-high water.

• Dineo downgraded‚ but beware winds of 51-62km/h and heavy rainsCyclone Dineo has been downgraded to a tropical depression as she makes her way towards Limpopo and Mpumalanga. 

Unfortunately they were so disoriented they kept swimming back on to the beach‚” he said.

Flaxman and his team kept redirecting the dolphins until they made their way back out to sea. Eight of the stranded dolphins died. “They are beautiful animals. We basically play with the dolphins when we go out to sea. I can only expect it's the rough seas and cyclone that disoriented them.”

Inhassoro did not suffer major damage in the wake of Cyclone Dineo‚ which has now been downgraded to a tropical depression‚ apart from some beach erosion‚ Flaxman said. The area had heavy rainfall throughout Wednesday night.

Brian Jefferies‚ of Jeff's Palm Resort‚ in Praia de Jangamo‚ Inhambane province‚ was also hit by the storm. "The water has now breached our dive centre and restaurant... we'll see what happens there. Some other places had water breaches earlier‚" he said on Wednesday night.

He was unable to post a detailed Facebook update on Thursday due to communication problems. All he wrote was: “No signal....lot of damage!!!!!!!”

Aid organisation Gift of the Givers has deployed a team of aid workers to the affected region in Mozambique. They are on standby.

“We have had very little contact with our team there so far‚ due to cellphone connection issues resulting from the storm‚” said spokesperson Bader Kazi.

• Storm of our Generations - #Dineo memes will blow you awayWith Dineo shifting its gaze from Mozambique to South Africa, social media has wasted no time seeing the funnier side of the approaching storm. 

Photographer and film maker Steven Clarey posted video footage on twitter from the stairwell of a hotel at Inhambane where parts of the roof were blown off.

“Footage from Inhambane‚ Mozambique this evening. Cyclone Dineo hitting our hotel. All ok‚ in stairwell! #Dineo #Cyclone #cycloneDineo”

Footage from Inhambane, Mozambique this evening. Cyclone Dineo hitting our hotel. All ok, in stairwell! #Dineo#Cyclone#cycloneDineopic.twitter.com/OQpxomNzWQ

— Steven Clarey (@StevenClarey) February 16, 2017