Mozambique: Bank, insurance finance chiefs worried about red tape, scrutiny
Búzi, Sfala province. [Photo: Twitter / @IFRCAfrica]
Mozambique braced for the arrival of a cyclone that threatens to disrupt one of its key ports and flood power plants in neighbouring South Africa.
Tropical Storm Eloise is expected to become a cyclone before making landfall later Friday or early Saturday near the port of Beira. The weather system is expected to bring more than 200 millimetres (8 inches) of rain in 24 hours to the area, with winds of up to 150 kilometres (93 miles) an hour, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
Beira will temporarily stop operations at midnight, resuming at 7 a.m. on Jan. 24, according to a statement posted on its website. The harbour, a hub for international trade in the region, suffered minimal damage when it was directly hit by the more powerful Cyclone Idai in 2019.
Face a aproximação da tempestade tropical Eloise e a confirmação da sua entrada no Canal de Moçambique na madrugada…
Publicado por Cornelder de Moçambique em Quinta-feira, 21 de janeiro de 2021
Power plants
Many rivers in Mozambique’s central and southern regions, which Eloise will impact, are already above alert levels after Tropical Storm Chalane struck near Beira last month.
The storm earlier this week hit Madagascar, where at least one person was killed and landslides are anticipated. Recent storms and cyclones have brought flooding to Mozambique and downed lines that export electricity to South Africa from the Cahora Bassa hydropower dam.
Eloise is forecast to lose strength as it moves across land, while still dumping rain in eastern and northern South Africa, where the nation generates most of its power from coal. Heavy rains can make the fuel difficult to use and constrain operations.
Eloise is “definitely a concern for our coal which so easily gets wet,” Jennifer Fitchett, associate professor of physical geography at University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, said in response to emailed questions. The storm probably won’t be strong enough at the point when it reaches South Africa to do major damage to infrastructure, but any poorly controlled flooding could be destructive, she said.
State-owned South African utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. has been rationing electricity as it conducts overdue maintenance on its ageing power plants. Eskom’s Matimba and Medupi facilities may be the most exposed to flooding, according to MeteoFrance’s forecast trajectory of Eloise.
Eskom didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Sasol Ltd., the fuel and chemical maker, has a gas-processing facility on the coast south of Beira and said that it’s taking the necessary precautions before the storm arrives.
By Paul Burkhardt and Matthew Hill
This is was the situation yesterday, in #Mozambique, in #Buzi. Heavy rains, ahead of #CycloneEloise.
Red Cross teams helped families to move to safer areas.
More details to follow. #Eloise. pic.twitter.com/bx5dkgX41q
— IFRC Africa (@IFRCAfrica) January 22, 2021
Beelden van waterpartners in #mozambique @waterschappen #bluedeal. En dan moet tropical storm Eloise morgen nog aan land komen. pic.twitter.com/EUd5z4juuT
— Jan van de Graaf (@waterecologie) January 22, 2021
Cyclone #Eloise is strengthening as it nears landfall in #Mozambique🇲🇿. It will bring some damaging winds, but extreme rainfall and associated flooding (already occurring) could be disastrous. pic.twitter.com/V0KfSZ7emY
— Samuel Hayes (@Icy_Samuel) January 22, 2021
@wfp_mozambique reporting winds of 150km/h, 200mm of rain. This is As Tropical Storm Eloise is approaching Mozambique, several villages in Sofala are being evacuated. @WFP is assisting . (Video: WFP) pic.twitter.com/LCzsNXFDIP
— Fidelis Zengeza Zvomuya (@Zvomuya) January 22, 2021
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