flood
Tropical Cyclone Kenneth has continued to batter parts of Mozambique with heavy rain after the storm made landfall in the north of the country on 25 April, 2019, causing severe flooding. River levels are extremely high and the flood situation is likely to worsen over the coming days, according to reports.

Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado Province on Mozambique's northeastern coast, recorded 300mm of rain in 24 hours to 28 April. The UN says the town has seen over 540mm of rain since Kenneth made landfall.

Mozambique's National Disaster Management Institute (INGC) said at least 38 people have now died as a result of TC Kenneth. Four people died when Tropical Cyclone Kenneth passed over the Comoros Islands on 24 April, 2019.




The cyclone has also caused huge material damages in northern Mozambique. Almost 3,000 houses and buildings have been totally destroyed and over 32,000 partially destroyed The damage include schools and health centres in the area, as well as over 30,000 hectares of crops.

According to the latest information from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of 29 April there were 20,720 displaced people sheltering in accommodation centres, including in Pemba (8,208), Quissanga (5,550) Metuge (3,600), Mocimboa da Praia (1,760), Palma (855), Muidumbe (335) and Macomia (422). The Government has identified some 7,554 vulnerable people, in addition to some 300 people who were reportedly rescued.

More rain is likely over the coming days, with forecasts predicting up to 50mm per day over much of Cabo Delgado province, with more than 100mm possible in some localised areas.

Heavy rain is also predicted further north in parts of neighbouring Tanzania.

According to analysis commissioned by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the flood peak for rivers in the region has not yet occurred and is generally expected to take place between 30 April and 02 May.

Tropical Cyclone Kenneth made landfall in Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, on 25 April, in an area where no tropical cyclone has been observed since the satellite era.

Cyclone Kenneth comes only weeks after Cyclone Idai devastated parts of central Mozambique, killing over 600 people and causing widespread destruction. There is no record of two storms of such intensity striking Mozambique in the same season, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

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