After the destruction of Cyclone Ana in January, the Southern African coast managed to miss a hard hit from cyclone Batsirai in February. But then, on Friday the 11th of March, another tropical cyclone made landfall in Mozambique. Leaving destruction in its path, Cyclone Gombe claimed seven lives before moving in towards Malawi on Sunday where it claimed another five, increasing the death toll to 12.
The Strength of the Storm
On Friday, the tropical storm hit Mozambique’s northern Nampula province with torrential rainfall and winds reaching 170 kilometers per hour. However, very shortly after making landfall the storm began to lose strength. Although cyclone Gombe still managed to reach a death toll of 12 people. While also having injured 40 and destroyed more than 3000 homes.
Cesar Tembe from Mozambique’s national institute for risk management said, “Gombe arrived with more intensity than Idai, but luckily it didn’t have the same impact, in terms of destruction and the fact that it lost strength right at the beginning”. Cyclone Idai was a massive storm which hit southern Africa in March 2019. It was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa. Having left more than 1,300 people dead.
Furthermore, electricity and water were cut in Nampula during cyclone Gombe, and mobile phone services were disrupted. While flights to the province had also been suspended. Plus, residents are now facing widespread flooding, following the heavy rainfall which continued in some areas of the country for two full days.
Warning Following the Storm
On Sunday, the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, released a statement informing the public that the cyclone had weakened to an ordinary low pressure system. However, it urges the public to continue to take precautionary measures such as avoiding crossing fast flowing and flooded waters.
It states, “As the rainfall continues, the threat of floods is very high in many southern districts”.