A cyclone lashed Mozambique with high winds and heavy rain and pushed storms westwards towards Zimbabwe yesterday, officials said, in the wake of much loss of life and heavy damage in floods.
Mozambique's southern tourist district of Vilankulo and the port city of Beira were hard hit by Cyclone Eline, adding to the woes of a country already struggling with its worst flooding in nearly 50 years.
The director of Mozambique's meteorological institute, Mr Filipe Lucio, said the storm moved from Vilankulo northwards to Beira before turning inland towards the Zimbabwe border.
He said winds gusting at over 120 k.p.h. at the coast had dropped to 40 k.p.h. as the storm moved across country.
Mr Lucio said he had no information on cyclone damage or loss of life in Mozambique.
In neighbouring Zimbabwe, meanwhile, the national Civil Protection Unit was put on full alert after meteorological officials warned the country could be hit by floods caused by Cyclone Eline.
The state news agency, Ziana, reported that the eastern districts bordering Mozambique were being pounding by heavy rains yesterday.
The southern part of the country has already been swept by floods caused by the storm systems which ravaged Mozambique and South Africa earlier this month.
About 22,000 people were left homeless in the Beitbridge area on Zimbabwe's southern border with South Africa, Ziana reported.
All major rivers in the south of Mozambique have flooded, forcing about 300,000 people to abandon their homes in three provinces. Authorities estimated that 800,000 people had been affected countrywide.