Zimbabwe on high alert over Cyclone Kenneth

HARARE, April 25 — Zimbabwe’s Civil Protection Unit (CPU) has warned that Cyclone Kenneth could make a land fall in Zimbabwe Thursday, the second such weather phenomenon to be experienced in the country in just over a month.

The cyclone is expected to make its first landfall in Tanzania and then proceed to Mozambique, Malawi and parts of Zimbabwe.

“Another Cyclone Kenneth which is projected to hit Mozambique, Malawi and some parts of Zimbabwe has been sighted in the Comoros Island facing this direction. It is projected that the Cyclone will be in the region around 6 p.m. on April 25,” the CPU said in a statement Wednesday night.

MANICALAND (ZIMBABWE), March 23, 2019 — Chinese volunteers help villagers cross a damaged bridge next to a village swallowed by a landslide triggered by Cyclone Idai in Rusitu, Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe, March 23, 2019. Zimbabwe began two days of national mourning on Saturday in remembrance of the victims of Cyclone Idai which induced floods ravaging the eastern and southern parts of the country last weekend. The Civil Protection Unit said that as of Friday night, the death toll from Idai in Zimbabwe had risen to 154 with 187 still missing. A total of 162 people were injured while 136 were marooned. (Xinhua/Zhang Guangrui)

CPU director Nathan Nkomo said people in flood prone areas had been advised to be on high alert.
Such areas include those in the northern, eastern, south eastern and central parts of the country.
He said the CPU and the Meteorological Services Department will be closely monitoring the situation at an interval of three hours, while various stakeholders had been instructed to ready their teams to respond to the disaster once it strikes.

“Drawing lessons from Cyclone Idai, we cannot take chances anymore,” Nkomo said.
Zimbabwe is still smarting from the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai which hit the country together with Mozambique and Malawi in mid-March.

The cyclone killed more than 300 people in Zimbabwe and displaced thousands while hundreds are still missing.
The cyclone also caused massive destruction to property, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Reconstruction and relief efforts are still ongoing in Chimanimani and Chipinge, the two districts that were most affected by the cyclone. – XINHUA