Mozambique: Another cyclone – but unlikely to make landfall | AIM report

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Mozambique: Another cyclone – but unlikely to make landfall | AIM report

6:13 CAT | 18 Feb 2021

Picture: Twitter / @Doglas2003

The storm system which has brought torrential rain to much of southern and central Mozambique over the past week, has now been upgraded from a tropical depression to a tropical cyclone, named Guambe.

As of Thursday morning, Guambe was in the Mozambique Channel, off the coast of Inhambane province. It was moving in a southerly direction, generating winds of up to 50 knots (over 90 kilometres an hour).

According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC), operated by the United States Navy, the course of the cyclone will bring it towards the coasts of Gaza and Maputo province, but it is unlikely to make landfall.

Instead, the forecast is that it will veer eastwards, and by Sunday it will be heading away from Mozambique at a speed of 160 kilometres an hour. Guambe will then weaken as it becomes an “extra-tropical storm”.

#Guambe is now a severe TS and can become a tropical cyclone in the next day or two. No landfall is expected but storm will graze the southern coast of #Mozambique Thursday night into early Saturday. Guambe will turn SE away from #Africa this weekend. pic.twitter.com/JvpSPhhDo4

— Jason Nicholls (@jnmet) February 18, 2021

We also have Cyclone #Guambe which is in between Mozambique and Madagascar, expecting to intensify as it heads southward, expected to remain off shore both Mozambique and Madagascar but will still bring inclement weather to Mozambique pic.twitter.com/VI724uYS9t

— Doglas (@Doglas2003) February 18, 2021

The storm has already brought flooding to much of Maputo province. According to a report in Thursday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, floods in Marracuene district, about 30 kilometres north of Maputo city, have displaced about 8.000 people from their homes.

The district administrator, Shafee Sidat, said the local government is warning residents to move away from low-lying, flood prone areas, while the Mozambican relief agency, the National Disaster Risk Management Institute (INGD), is providing the displaced families with food.

One problem is that households have insisting on building homes in areas where construction is forbidden. 74 households who defied instructions and built houses in the Ricatla area, now find they have been submerged.

Sidat estimated that the rains have wiped out crops on 23,540 hectares of farmland in Marracuene.

In Inhambane province, the continuing rains are threatening floods in at least 13 districts, where the rivers Inhanombe, Mutamba, and Inhassune could break their banks, according to the Southern Regional Water Board (ARA-Sul), and the National Meteorology Institute (INAM).

This is #TropicalStorm #Guambe (soon to become a #cyclone) bringing storm force winds and heavy precipitation in the next hours. #StaySafe and be prepared and follow official #weather warnings and advisories. @ReenvalSA @_ArriveAlive @AfricaWeather_ @afriwx https://t.co/L6yYrQAU6x

— ASKMeteo (@ASKMeteo) February 18, 2021

We follow the developments of the #TropicalStorm #Guambe earlier today: This #trivisWS (https://t.co/VcWApIyc74) animation shows Enhanced Natural Colour satellite IOD 41.5° images from the #Meteosat MSG from #EUMETSAT
from 07:00 UTC till 14:00 UTC on 18.02.2021. #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/m999u3CpSg

— ASKMeteo (@ASKMeteo) February 18, 2021