Cyclone Chido: after Mayotte, the cyclone hits Mozambique and the Comoros

Tropical Cyclone Chido hit Mozambique on Sunday morning with strong winds and heavy rain after killing people and causing widespread destruction in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean.

The cyclone appeared to have intensified as it crossed the Mozambique Channel overnight to make landfall about 40 km south of the town of Pemba in northern Mozambique, weather services said. “The cyclone is already hitting Pemba with very high intensity. We are monitoring the situation but there has been no communication with Pemba since 7 a.m.“, the director of the National Institute of Meteorology, Adérito Aramuge, told AFP.

Unicef, for its part, indicated that it was on the ground to help people affected by the storm, which has already caused a lot of damage. “Countless homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed“, writes this UN agency in a press release.

The storm is expected to bring thunderstorms and strong winds with gusts of up to 260 km/h to Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces, Mozambique’s meteorological services said. More than 250 mm of precipitation is expected in 24 hours.