Mozambique: Beira asks residents to store groceries as Tropical Storm Chalane approaches – Watch

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Mozambique: Beira asks residents to store groceries as Tropical Storm Chalane approaches – Watch

11:31 CAT | 29 Dec 2020

Screen grab: Conselho Municipal da Beira

The Municipal Council of Beira, in Sofala province of central Mozambique, yesterday asked residents to store enough water and food for the next few days, as a preparation for possible impacts of Tropical Storm Chalane, now crossing the Mozambique Channel.

“It is important that families guarantee and prepare a certain quantity of food and water at home, enough for at least a few days”, said Albano Caris, the councillor for Construction, Sanitation and Urbanisation at the Beira City Council , addressing the media.

The National Institute of Meteorology (INAM) of Mozambique has issued an alert on Tropical Storm Chalane, already in the Mozambique channel.

At stake is an alert issued by Mozambique’s institute of meteorology about a tropical storm, which is already in the Mozambique canal, evolving to the point of a severe tropical storm (cyclone) and reaching the Mozambican coast on Wednesday, particularly the provinces of Zambézia and Sofala, in the centre of the country.

Although weakening as it crossed Madagascar, Chalane is expected to pick up speed as it moves over the Mozambique Channel. Some predictions, including the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System, indicate that it could become a Tropical Cyclone with a speed of 120 km/h, while others indicate that it is likely to remain a Tropical Storm.

#Chalane is now a severe TS over the Mozambique Channel and can become a tropical cyclone or category 1 hurricane equivalent before striking central #Mozambique on Wednesday. The storm can be problematic for areas still trying to recover from #Idai back in March 2019. pic.twitter.com/VD2IUydkDG

— Jason Nicholls (@jnmet) December 29, 2020

According to Albano Caris, as of today, December 29, the population must stay at home and avoid places considered at risk, because the city of Beira is one of the places which may be affected,. Caris recalled Cyclone Idai, which in March 2019 reached central Mozambique, causing 604 deaths and more than 1.8 million people affected.

The city of Beira, one of the main cities in the country, was severely affected by cyclone Idai, and is still in the process of recovering from the damages caused.

Sandbags on top of roofs

“If you remember, during Cyclone Idai, some people died because they wanted to secure the roof of their house. Now we are saying that people must stay in safe places. Those who feel that the zinc plates [on their roofs] are not in good condition must place sandbags on top of their roof, ” said Albano Caris.

In addition to the measures recommended to residents, Caris said that the municipality activated disaster risk committees and st up safe shelter spaces. Starting yesterday, there would be vehicles circulating through the city with messages about precautionary measures to be taken in face of the storm.

“There will also be specialised teams pruning those trees in critical condition to prevent them from creating serious damage to this city,” he added.

The National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) in Sofala predicts that, in the worst scenario,Tropical Storm Chalane will affect about 71,070 people, of which 23,230 in Beira.

Between the months of October and April, Mozambique is cyclically affected by cyclonic winds from the Indian Ocean and floods originating in the hydrographic basins of southern Africa, in addition to droughts that almost always affect some parts of the south of the country.

In addition to Idai, a short time later, in April 2019, northern Mozambique was hit by Cyclone Kenneth, which killed 45 people and affected another 250,000.