Beira is plunged into darkness as Cyclone Idai makes landfall in Mozambique

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Beira is plunged into darkness as Cyclone Idai makes landfall in Mozambique

11:11 CAT | 14 Mar 2019

Picture: Twitter

The city of Beira, in the coast of central Mozambique, has been without electricity since late afternoon, when rain and wind intensified as cyclone Idai arrived.

عين الإعصار IDAI ( إداي) لحظة اجتياح سواحل موزامبيق .. pic.twitter.com/FVuqO4xPlr

— ابراهيم اللامي (@ibrahimallami1) March 14, 2019

The eye of Cyclone #Idai is now coming ashore close to the city of #Beira in #Mozambique. pic.twitter.com/Nh8drxjETZ

— Met Office Storms (@metofficestorms) March 14, 2019

In the afternoon, the gusts and precipitation had already caused the collapse of part of the newly inaugurated Munhava municipal stadium and ripped off the roofs of several makeshift house in the outskirts neighbourhoods.

Beirahearttt

From 7 p.m. (local time) the city of Beira is without electricity.

The wind knocked down trees, making several roads impassable, even in the centre of the city, witnessed the Lusa reporting team.

On Tuesday, Mozambique’s Council of Ministers issued a red alert to prepare the country to face cyclone Idai.

From 5 p.m. (3 p.m. in Lisbon) the city is practically deserted, with no traffic on the streets and all services closed, even the gas stations, which are usually the last resort for convenience shopping.

The government of Sofala province in central Mozambique has launched an appeal to the population of the five districts that Cyclone Idai may affect as it leaves the Indian Ocean, entering on land: Muanza, Cheringoma, Búzi, Dondo and Beira.

Authorities urged the population to remain sheltered, as the Mozambican National Institute of Meteorology (INAM) predicts that the cyclone will cause winds which may reach 200 kilometres per hour, accompanied by heavy rain, severe thunderstorms and sea waves. reaching to 10 metres.

The storm is expected to intensify tonight during the night and early morning tomorrow. On Friday, Idai is expected to grind towards the provinces of Sofala and Manica, moving west and losing intensity.

The cyclone should only dissipate over Zimbabwe on Saturday.

This is the second strong storm to ravage central and northern Mozambique in just over a week.

Since March 6, at least 15 people have died and more than 103,000 have been affected by heavy rains and floods in central and northern Mozambique, the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

Mozambique is cyclically affected by natural disasters, with drought in the south and flooding in the centre and north.