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Mozambique braces for Cyclone Kenneth
MAPUTO, April 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A powerful cyclone was set to make
landfall in northern Mozambique Thursday, barely a month after a super-storm
slammed into the country’s centre, leaving hundreds dead and causing
devastation.
As Cyclone Kenneth barrelled towards to the northeastern coast after
swiping the Comoros, the UN warned of flash flooding and landslides. Dozens
of schools were closed and all flights between the capital Maputo and Pemba
were cancelled.
Forecasters at Meteo-France warned that Kenneth could trigger waves off
Mozambique’s northeastern shore as much as five metres (16 feet) higher than
usual. The Red Cross warned it was “especially concerned” about the storm’s
impact, as many communities in Mozambique are still recovering from a cyclone
that hit on the night of March 14-15.
The most powerful storm to strike the region in decades, Cyclone Idai cut
a path of destruction through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. It left more
than a thousand dead and causing damage estimated at around $2 billion (1.8
billion euros).
Kenneth passed by the Indian Ocean archipelago nation Comoros on Thursday,
battering it with high winds and heavy rains, the country’s Meteorological
Office wrote on Facebook.
“We must stay alert, avoid touching fallen power cables, wait for
permission before driving and keep children at home,” it said.
An AFP team in the Comoran capital Moroni saw shacks destroyed by the rain
and wind, and high seas as a result of the cyclone.
“I have three children, one is small, just one month and 10 days (old). We
were here until 11 p.m. last night when things deteriorated,” local resident
Abdillah Alaoui told AFP.
“It was our neighbours who evacuated us.”
– Tanzania concern –
Tanzanian authorities ordered schools and businesses shut in some southern
districts on Thursday and urged people to brace for extreme winds and rain.
The Tanzanian provinces of Mtwara, Lindi and Ruvuma were at highest risk
and could experience strong winds and downpours from the middle of the
Thursday, the country’s meteorological agency said.
Residents in Mtwara were already leaving the coastal enclave with their
families, some on foot, for emergency shelters, witnesses told AFP by phone.
Gelasius Byakanwa, the governor of Mtwara, ordered schools closed in his
province and asked “students to stay home and employees not to go to their
offices”.
However, he called on medical staff, police and utility workers to remain
on duty.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it was “watching the approaching
tropical storm in northeastern Mozambique closely”.
“This storm will hit the north and we are expecting that heavy rain will
provoke flash floods and landslides impacting the northeastern provinces of
Cabo Delgado and Nampula,” it said in a statement.
“WFP is working under government coordination and with other humanitarians
on an emergency preparedness plan.”
BSS/AFP/ARS/1654 hrs