Ciclone in Mozambico.

La stagione delle piogge del 2007 si preannuncia disastrosa per il Mozambico, facendo tornare alla mente i ricordi del tragico alluvione del 2000.

Dopo la piena e lo straripamento dello Zambesi, adesso è il ciclone Flavio ad essersi abbattuto su questo Paese, causando danni incalcolabili.

Cyclone Flavio Rips Through Country


Business in Africa (Johannesburg)


NEWSFebruary 22, 2007

Winds of around 200km/hr are causing widespread destruction across Mozambique, as Cyclone Flavio has hit the country after crossing the narrow sea channel from Madagascar.
Conditions are expected to worsen even further as the eye of the cyclone is yet to hit the area.
Heavy rains are reportedly lashing the area. There are no reports of injuries or deaths.
One of the worst hit areas is popular tourist destination, Vilanculos.
By 6pm local time on Wednesday afternoon, Flavio was a very intense category-three storm with winds of about 185km/h, according to the Tropical Storm Risk website. It was forecast to increase in intensity to a category-four storm.
A major storm hitting Mozambique's central provinces has already caused the Zambezi to burst its banks, where more than 120 000 people have been displaced.
Karin Manente, deputy country director for the World Food Programme (WFP), said government officials appear to be up to the task. "What we have seen so far in relation to the flood response is that INGC [the disaster agency] has shown quite a high degree of preparedness. The fact that we have had no known deaths due to the current floods is testament to their effectiveness."
Media reports have mistakenly attributed 29 deaths to the recent floods, but those fatalities were a result of flooding in other parts of the country from October last year to January this year.
The impact of Favio has already been felt in Madagascar after it scrapped the southern tip of the Indian Ocean island, disrupting relief operations trying to reach 582 000 people struggling to cope with the aftermath of a drought in the south, and flooding that has left at least three dead and displaced 33 000 throughout the country.