Bad weather left 55,000 families and businesses in northern Mozambique without electricity

Some 55,000 families, institutions and businesses in Cabo Delgado and Nampula in northern Mozambique were left without electricity after dozens of utility poles fell due to rain and strong winds.

In a statement published this Monday, the Eletricidade de Moçambique (EDM) explains that “the rains and strong winds that are felt in the northern region” of the country “are causing damage to the electrical system, with cases of power outages being recorded.” .poles, broken electrical cables, interruptions in the supply of electrical energy.”

The same information states that, at the moment, in the province of Cabo Delgado, 4,256 consumers in the administrative posts of Namapa, Ocua and Alua “remain without electricity due to the fall of 39 poles in the area of ​​Nacivare”, in the district of Cure.

In Nampula province, two medium voltage towers were reported to have fallen in the Velho Faina cemetery area, leaving 50,600 consumers without electricity in the Ribaue, Murrupula and Mecuburi areas, as well as in Bairro Marere.

“EDM technical teams are on the ground and on standby, intervening in the network to gradually restore the system. However, weather conditions and inaccessibility of some places became serious obstacles affecting the delay of work to restore the electrical system,” explains the company.

Elsewhere in the country, Mozambique’s weather services warned this Monday that a strong tropical storm is forming and is forecast to hit the center and south of the country with wind gusts of up to 120 kilometers per hour (kph) and very heavy rain. .

“According to current forecasts, the system will continue to develop and reach severe tropical storm stage, producing very heavy rain, maximum wind speeds of 85 km/h and gusts of up to 120 km/h (…) over the next 48 hours,” according to a statement from Mozambique National Institute of Meteorology (Inam).

The current red alert, announced on Sunday, now covers the provinces of Inhambane (south), Sofala and Zambezia (centre).

In the case of Sofala, in the areas of Machanga, Chibabawa and Buzi, the forecast indicates rainfall equivalent to 200 mm/day, thunderstorms, strong winds and wind gusts of up to 120 km/h.

“The tropical disturbance may develop into a moderate tropical storm in the coming hours, approaching the coast of our country through the provinces of Sofala and Inhambane,” Inam said in a forecast for the next few hours before developing into a storm. harsh tropical.

“Due to the occurrence of strong winds, thunderstorms and heavy rain, precautionary and safety measures are advised,” he warned.

Mozambique is considered one of the countries worst hit by climate change in the world, experiencing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.

The 2018/2019 rainy season was one of the harshest in Mozambique’s history, with 714 people killed, including 648 victims of Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, two of the largest to ever hit the country.

According to official government data, in the first quarter of last year, heavy rains and the passage of Cyclone Freddy caused the death of 306 people, affected more than 1.3 million people in the country, and destroyed 236 thousand houses and 3,200 classrooms.

In late September, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi urged people and actors to prepare for the predictable effects of an El Niño event in the country in the coming months, predicting above-normal rainfall and outbreaks. drought.

“History repeats itself. Therefore, we must create conditions for sustainability. In this sense, the government will issue regular warnings to keep the public informed and prepared for weather conditions that may be adverse to life, production or infrastructure,” he said. .