MAPUTO – Cyclone Kenneth made landfall in northern Mozambique, just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore through the area, leaving behind a path of death and devastation.
This is the first time in known history that Mozambique has been hit by two cyclones in one season, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
Cyclone Kenneth came ashore north of the city of Pemba. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center says the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 220 kilometers (136 miles) per hour at landfall.
Mozambique’s National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC) said 30,000 people had been evacuated from areas likely to be in the storm’s path as it moves through the country.
South African Weather Service forecaster Dipuo Tawana expects Cyclone Kenneth to linger over Mozambique, dumping rain until late Monday evening, bringing a risk of intense flooding.
“The rainfall that we forecast for the next four days in the northeastern part of Mozambique – we have between 500 and 1,000 millimetres (19.5 to 39 inches) of rain,” Mr. Tawana said
As it approached Mozambique, Cyclone Kenneth left people in the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros without power, with some losing their homes. The U.N. said it was still assessing the extent of the damage.
