Maputo — Almost 100,000 people have been deprived of electricity since Tuesday morning as a result of the severe tropical storm "Filipo', which has swept across southern Mozambique.
According to a statement from the publicly owned electricity company, EDM, "the storm is causing damage to the electricity system in the affected regions, with reports of fallen poles, flooded equipment and broken electricity cables.'
"Inaccessibility of some regions is the biggest obstacle and is contributing to the delay in restoring the electricity supply', said EDM.
According to the National Meteorology Institute (INAM), "Filipo' entered the mainland at 05:00, through the district of Inhassoro, in Inhambane province, and then headed south-west, to Gaza and Maputo city and province.
"Over the next 24 hours, the system will continue to move progressively in a south-westerly direction and may also affect the weather, characterized by very heavy rainfall, maximum winds of 90 km/h and gusts of up to 120 km/h', reads the INAM statement.
The National Disaster Management Institute (INGD), the country's relief agency, estimated that around 525,000 people could be affected by the severe tropical storm, particularly in the southern region (Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo) and the central province of Sofala.
The storm raged over Maputo for all of Tuesday night and much of Wednesday morning, but by midday the rains had eased. Although the storm was described inaccurately in some quarters as a cyclone, the winds did not have the force of a cyclone, and did not do the damage expected of a true cyclone.
