Mozambique Airlines (LAM) announced on Wednesday, March 13, the cancellation of all flights scheduled for the morning, due to the occurrence of tropical storm “Filipo”, which has been affecting the southern region of the country since Tuesday (12).
“They will probably be cancelled in the afternoon, as soon as the weather conditions show a marked improvement,” the company said in a statement.
In the document, the company also revealed that, due to the “meteorological situation”, it had to cancel some flights, pointing out that one of the company’s aircraft had to “land at an alternative destination”.
Recently, the Mozambican authorities warned of the need to adopt precautionary measures in view of the heavy rain forecast, particularly in Maputo, following the severe tropical storm affecting the country.
The National Emergency Operations Centre (CENOE) called for the conservation of food, school supplies and documents, as well as checking and seeking safe shelter, recommending that citizens keep an eye out for information from the competent authorities, take small boats out of the water to safe places and pay attention to the elderly, children and people with disabilities.
For its part, the National Meteorological Institute (INAM) confirmed that storm “Filipo” entered the continent at 5am on Tuesday, through the district of Inhassoro, in Inhambane, heading south-west, specifically towards Maputo.
“Over the next 24 hours, the system will continue to move progressively in a south-westerly direction, and may also affect the weather, characterised by very heavy rain, a maximum wind of 90 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 120 kilometres per hour,” he clarified.
It is estimated that more than 525,000 people could be affected by storm “Filipo”, which is expected to hit the provinces of Sofala, Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo, in the centre and south of the country, respectively.
Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change in the world, facing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.
The 2018-19 rainy season was one of the most severe on record in Mozambique: 714 people died, including 648 victims of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, two of the biggest ever to hit the country.
In the first quarter of last year, heavy rains and Cyclone Freddy caused 306 deaths, affected more than 1.3 million people in the country, destroyed 236,000 homes and 3,200 classrooms, according to official government figures.
