Moz cyclone sparks evacuation

2008-01-27 20:38

Maputo - A tropical cyclone swirling off the coast of Mozambique is threatening to worsen flooding that has killed several people and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands, said meteorologists on Sunday.

The Mozambican Meteorology Office said Cyclone Fame had increased in speed to 400km/h. Forecasters expect the storm to miss the Mozambican coast, but even without a direct hit, the cyclone could bring more rain.

Torrential rains have flooded large sections of southern Africa just as the cyclone season is beginning.

Rains in Zambia and Zimbabwe have swollen the Zambezi River - Africa's fourth longest - to well above the flood limit, and valleys in Malawi and Mozambique have borne the brunt as the waters hurtle down toward the Indian Ocean.

60 000 evacuated

Mozambican meteorologist Musa Mustafa said rains from the cyclone were expected to hit the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa as well as the central provinces of Zambezia, Sofala, Tete and Manica.

"It will certainly worsen the present floods in Tete, Manica, Sofala and Zambezia," he said.

Mozambican authorities have evacuated at least 60 000 people, but have managed to keep loss of life to a minimum - 16 flood-related deaths have been reported so far - thanks to their disaster-prevention strategy.

Altogether, there have been 44 flood-related deaths across the region. Most of them - 27 - were in Zimbabwe.

Mozambique has been bracing itself for the start of the cyclone season, which can cause massive devastation.

Last year, Cyclone Favio struck tourist destinations in the south, destroying crops and affecting thousands of people. In 2000 and 2001, floods caused by two cyclones left 800 dead.

Cyclone Fame developed on Friday from a tropical storm that formed in the extreme north of the Mozambique Channel a day earlier.

'Stockpile food and water'

Information from the United States navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, which tracks storms in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, shows Cyclone Fame veering towards Madagascar and away from the Mozambican coast.

Mozambique's National Emergency Operational Centre has warned provincial governments about the cyclone, and is advising that foodstuffs and clean water be stockpiled.

"People must keep calm and in a state of alert," said a statement from the centre broadcast on state radio and television on Saturday night.

- Reuters