NAIROBI: Beaches were deserted and many shops were closed on Saturday as a tropical cyclone lashed coastal areas of Tanzania and Kenya with heavy rain and winds.
Both countries have gone on alert for Tropical Cyclone Hidaya, after weeks of torrential rains and floods that have devastated parts of East Africa and killed more than 400 people.
But there were no reports of casualties or damage as of Saturday afternoon as the cyclone came from the Indian Ocean and made landfall in Tanzania.
“It’s very strange to see only a few people on the beach today. We are used to seeing crowds, especially during weekends,” said Yusuf Hassan, a resident of Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam.
“But I’m sure people are afraid of cyclones.”
The Kenya Meteorological Department said the cyclone was already being felt offshore, with strong winds of more than 40 knots and waves of more than two meters (more than six feet).
It predicted heavy rain near the coast from Sunday, which will intensify over the next two days, but said Kenya would only feel the cyclone’s impact “marginally” due to its location on the equator.
Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki announced a ban on all beach activities, swimming and fishing.
The Tanzania Meteorological Authority said strong winds and heavy rain lashed the coast overnight.
It said the Mtwara region recorded more than 90 millimeters (3.5 inches) of rain in 24 hours, almost double the average May rainfall of 54 millimeters.
The agency advised people living in at-risk areas and those involved in maritime activities to exercise “maximum caution”.
In the Zanzibar archipelago, all maritime transport has been suspended.
“We believe it is not safe to travel in such weather conditions because of the cyclone,” Sheikha Ahmed Mohammed, director general of the Zanzibar Maritime Authority, told AFP.
Cyclone season in the southwest Indian Ocean typically lasts from November to April and about a dozen storms form each year.
Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday described the weather picture as “terrible” and indefinitely postponed the reopening of schools after what he said was the country’s first cyclone.
Nearly 210 people have died and about 100 are missing from flood-related incidents in Kenya.
Another 165,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, according to government figures.
Ruto in a televised address blamed the failure to protect the environment for the devastating cycle of drought and floods, saying, “No corner of our country has been spared this havoc.”
“Sadly, we have not seen the last of this dangerous period.”
On Thursday, the Interior Ministry ordered anyone living near major rivers or dams to leave the area within 24 hours or face “mandatory evacuation for their safety.”
It warned that 178 dams and reservoirs were at risk of overflowing.
Kindiki said 138 camps have been set up to provide temporary shelter to more than 62,000 people displaced by the flood waters.
Opposition politicians and lobby groups have accused the government of being unprepared and slow to respond despite weather warnings.
At least 155 people have also died in Tanzania from floods and landslides that have submerged homes and destroyed crops.
East Africa is highly sensitive to climate change and this year’s rainfall has been exacerbated by El Nino – a climate phenomenon typically associated with increased heat that causes drought in some parts of the world and heavy rain in others. it occurs.
Torrential rains have killed at least 29 people in Burundi since September, while weather-related deaths have also been reported in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda.
Late last year, rains and floods killed more than 300 people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia as the region tried to recover from its worst drought in four decades.