JOANESBURG (AP) – The Mozambican port city of Beira sighed with relief on Saturday when Cyclone Eloise caused less damage than it feared as it passed, but the danger of flooding remained in a region that was still recovering from a devastating cyclone two years ago.
“We all feel it has been a lot less than we expected,” said Kobus Botha, head of agriculture and logistics company Servir. “If you remember in (Cyclone) Idai, we all said, ‘This isn’t too bad’, but 24 hours later the great waters came.” Idai in 2019 killed several hundred people and displaced well over 100,000.
Before the cyclone arrived, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned that at least 100,000 people would be affected.
“Heavy rains will persist for more than 24 hours,” he said. “The amount of rain will be enough to flood the low areas of Beira and Buzi. Other floods may arrive a few days later, as the accumulated water flows down the Pungue and Buzi rivers from Zimbabwe. “
In a more likely scenario, the IFRC expects 400,000 people to be affected because “torrential rains immediately flood the lower areas of Beira, Buzi, Nhamatanda, Chibabava and Sussundenga. The accumulation of water in Zimbabwe will flow downstream, increasing the flooded areas for several days. “
The eye of the storm passed over Beira before dawn on Saturday, having already brought heavy rains to the province of Zambézia and its capital, Quelimane. The cyclone lost strength after reaching the continent, but destroyed the electricity and communications infrastructure in Beira, a city of about half a million inhabitants, and surrounding areas.
“The Vodacom network experienced a temporary interruption … cutting off communication from users throughout the city of Beira and in some districts in the province of Sofala,” Vodacom said in a statement.
The electricity company EDM said it turned off the power as a precautionary measure after water entered a Beira substation, informed the distribution point Carta de Moçambique.
“Looking from a distance, you can see tiles missing here and there,” said Ben Van Wyk, a resident of Beira. “But the mayor (Daviz Simango) has been a master at preparation. All of Beira put sandbags on the roofs yesterday ”, as city officials closed their eyes to remove sand from the beach.
Eloise is the second cyclone to hit central Mozambique this season, after Chalane in December. But since Idai, “people now know what a cyclone is and take it seriously,” said Van Wyk.