'Elita' Storm Affects Four Mozambican Provinces

[senorpepr]

Four Mozambican coastal provinces are suffering the effects of the tropical storm "Elita", that returned to the Mozambique Channel on Monday, reports Tuesday's issue of the daily paper "Noticias".

"Elita" had come inland last Thursday, rampaging across Nampula province, causing considerable damage to housing. At the weekend, "Elita" changed direction and headed back into the Mozambique Channel, where it intensified.

The National Meteorology Institute (INAM) has upgraded "Elita" to the category of a "severe tropical storm", and has warned that conditions for shipping in the central and northern parts of the Mozambique Channel are unsafe while the storm lasts.

Winds of up to 130 kilometres per hour have been generated by the storm.

The greater part of the Mozambican coast, from Nampula in the north to Inhambane in the south, is suffering the effects of the storm.

"Residents of Nampula, Zambezia, Sofala, and Inhambane provinces should be on the alert because of strong winds and moderate rain, accompanied by thunder", reads a note from INAM.

The document warned that the storm may cause serious damage to houses, particularly those built of flimsy materials, and also to crops such as cashew and coconut trees.

Because of the storm, the Inhambane Maritime Administration barred, on Monday afternoon, the movement of boats across Inhambane Bay.

"We are still maintaining the alert to maritime navigation, because conditions are not good in the central and the northern regions. People in the coastal areas should be aware of the possibility of strong winds and rain", said Mussa Mustafa, chief of the INAM weather forecasting department.

But he added that the damage done by "Elita" last Thursday in the Nampula districts of Memba, Nacala-a-Velha, Mogincual, and Lalaua is not as serious as initially feared.

The Nampula delegate of the country's relief agency, the National Disasters Management Institute (INGC), Jose Silvestre, said that his institution is prepared to assist people affected by the storm, particularly in terms of foodstuffs, such as rice, maize, cooking oil, and tinned fish.

In the central region, the Zambezi Regional Water Board (ARA-Zambeze) is warning people living near river banks in the Zambezi Valley to be alert against possible flooding, due to strong rainfall in the countries upstream, namely Zambia and Zimbabwe.

A note issued by that institution says that water levels on the Zambezi and its tributaries are still stable, but the risk remains.

"There is a tendency for the levels of the rivers to rise, which is normal at this time of year. The present volume of water released by the Cahora Bassa dam, plus the contributions of the Zambezi tributaries upstream of Tete, are rising", the note warned. One Zambezi tributary, the Chimadzi river, has burst its banks, cutting the road link between Tete city and the outlying suburbs of Degue and Boroma.

The director of Water Resources at the Cahora Bassa dam, Henriques Silva, said the situation at the dam was calm, and no floodgates had been opened. "The rains started late, and so far we've had nothing abnormal", he said.