Mozambique: Cyclone Gezani Heading Away From Mozambique

Six years after Cyclone Idai ripped through Beira, the city's wounds are still raw. As a new storm gathered in the Indian Ocean in February, journalist Sean Christie found a city caught in a permanent state of waiting for the next disaster to hit.

Maputo — Tropical cyclone Gezani has not yet dissipated, but it no longer poses a threat to Mozambique.

According to the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC), after brushing against southern Madagascar, Gezani has been heading almost directly south for the past two days. This is a course that takes it away from any land mass.

In its passage through the Mozambique Channel last week, the cyclone affected about half a million people, bringing high winds and torrential rains to parts of Inhambane and Sofala provinces. The known death toll was four.

According to the General Director of the Mozambican National Meteorology Institutes, Adérito Aramuge, the system moved parallel to the coast of Inhambane and did not penetrate the mainland which meant that the winds were less severe than initially forecast, thus reducing the damage.

"It is important to note that the tropical cyclone has passed', said Aamuge. "Fortunately, it stayed away from the coast of Inhambane, did not enter the mainland, and this meant that the impacts were also reduced'.

Aramuge also explained that any current rainfall in Gaza and Maputo provinces is not related to the passage of the cyclone, as "the country is in the rainy season, a period when rainfall is considered normal.'

"It is necessary to separate these two phenomena. The rains that may occur are in no way related to the passage of the cyclone', he said.

For her part, Luísa Meque, chairperson of the country's relief agency, the National Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction (INGD), said that the households that have been housed in accommodation centres in in Maxixe city, one of the worst affected areas in Inhambane, can now return to their homes.

"After assessment visits to some neighborhoods, the authorities found that minimum safety conditions were in place for the population to return. From the work done in Maxixe, we visited some neighborhoods and saw that conditions are indeed in place for families in the centres to return. We are here to convey this message and bring comfort to the families', Meque said.

According to INGD data, eight accommodation centres have been activated in Inhambane province, which currently house 871 people.

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