Tropical cyclone Freddy may affect 70,000 people in Mozambique

Maputo, Feb 21 Tropical cyclone Freddy could hit the Mozambican coast on Wednesday, affecting around 70,000 people in the provinces of Sofala, Zambezia and Inhambane, the East African nation's disaster relief department announced.

According to President of the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD) Luisa Meque, 15 places have already been identified to be used as accommodation centres for the victims, reports Xinhua news agency.

Most of these accommodation centres are schools where conditions have been created to shelter those affected, she said.

"In terms of sanitation, there are conditions created, such as rehabilitated bathrooms in all accommodation centres, and we are also going to install health brigades to provide assistance," she said.

The system will influence the weather in the Mozambican central provinces of Zambezia, Sofala, and the southern province of Inhambane, with rains and strong winds accompanied by severe thunderstorms, said Meque.

According to the National Institute of Meteorology, Cyclone Freddy is currently moving toward eastern Madagascar, and its epicentre is expected to reach the continental region of that country from the end of the day on Tuesday.

Meque appealed to people to continue to follow the meteorological updates issued by the authorities.

"As soon as possible, we intend to start with the removal of people from areas considered at risk," she said, adding that the INGD agents are urged to act more quickly and with more precision to avoid high numbers of affected people.

Some five other coastal nations Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and South Africa are also vulnerable as Freddy looks set to tear across the Mozambican channel after Wednesday.

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