Mozambique: Tropical Cyclone Favio (14S) Landfall

[HURAKAN]

[P.K.]

Still 935hPa, but down to 90kts.

2.B OTHER INFORMATIONS:
T=4.5 ET CI=5.5
FAVIO HAS INTENSIFYED AT THE END OF THE NIGHT APPROACHING MOZAMBIQUE
COASTS (CF THE MICROWAVE IMAGERY OF SSMIS 0555Z, REALLY IMPRESSIVE),
BUT
HAS SHOWED FEW SIGNS OF WEAKENING JUST BEFORE ITS OVERLAND LINKED TO
THE
LAND PROXIMITY.
SYSTEM HAS OVERLANDED NEAR INHASSORO (A LITTLE BIT IN THE NORTH OF
VILANCULOS) AFTER IT HAS CROSSED THE BAZURETO ISLAND.
ADD TO STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL, THE STORM SURGE AND CYCLONIC
SWELL SHOULD MAKE HAVOC IN THE VILANCULOS BAY.
ALWAYS STEERED BY THE MID HIGH LEVEL HIGH STATIONNARY OVER THE SOUTH
OF
AFRICA, FAVIO SHOUD KEEP ON TRACKING NORTHWESTWARDS AND WEAKEN
OVERLAND,
HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WINDS SHOULD HOWEVER CONCERN THE CITY OF BEIRA
DURING THE NEXT 12 HOURS.
DURING ITS TRACK OVERLAND TOWARDS HARARE (ZIMBABWE), FAVIO SHOULD
GENERATE HEAVY RAINS OVER SOME AFFLUENTS OF THE ZAMBEZI RIVER AND
SHOULD
ALSO CAUSE NEW FLOODS ALONG IT AND OVER ITS DELTA.=

A tropical cyclone has struck central Mozambique, with strong winds damaging houses and uprooting trees.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6385405.stm

[P.K.]

Track image.

[HURAKAN]

The cyclone seems to be rotating counter-clockwise in the picture, wrong for a southern hemisphere cyclone!!!

[Crostorm]

[HURAKAN]

http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real- ... va14S.html

A loop showing before and after landfall.

[P.K.]

Good point, most southern hemisphere TCs don't rotate anti-clockwise.

Bit concerning to see this in the update BBC article "A second cyclone - Gamede - is now also threatening to make landfall in central Mozambique sometime before dawn on Friday, officials say."

Nice image at http://www.eumetsat.int/groups/pubic/documents/image/img_homepage_cyclone_favio.jpg of Favio from 20/2.

Finally here is an image from this morning around the landfall time, and the latest available one.

[HURAKAN]

Bit concerning to see this in the update BBC article "A second cyclone - Gamede - is now also threatening to make landfall in central Mozambique sometime before dawn on Friday, officials say."

A good question will be, who are the officials? The authorities of Mozambique or the Meteorologist. It's just astronomically stupid to make such an statement when Gamede is not even close to Mozambique. Maybe they got Madagascar and Mozambique confused. Before putting such an statement they should just see a track map or ask an expert. But what we can do, just sensacionalism.

[Meso]

Hah,the Local South African news also just said Gamede will make landfall before dawn.Hopefully the meteorologist will correct it later on.. Favio's outer bands are showing up on local radars here

[HURAKAN]

A lot of rain.

[Chacor]

Down to 60kt (10-min) at 18Z.

2.B OTHER INFORMATIONS:
"FAVIO" MADE LANDFALL SLGHTLY NORTH OF VILANCULOS CITY, THE SYSTEM IS
NOW BEING DISORGANIZED BY THIS LANDING. IT IS EXPECTED TO KEEP ON
TRACKING MAINLY NORTH-NORTHWESTWARDS ; VERY STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL
MAY STILL AFFECT THE VICINITY OF BEIRA AND THE SOFALA PROVINCE FOR
ANOTHER 12 TO 24 HOURS

[AussieMark]

It always happens after a bad cyclone I remember after Larry there was another cyclone in the SW Pacific and the media were hyping that up also

[P.K.]

Press release from RSMC La Reunion yesterday. As I've run it through a translator I'll post the original version as well. Seven years to the day of the landfall of ITC Eline.

COMMUNICATE OF PRESS

Date: 22/02/07 to 6 p.m.

Subject: Intense activity disturbed on the South-west of the Indian Ocean (complement)

Text: The South-west of the Indian Ocean is currently the seat of an important disturbed activity, with step less than three depressionary systems in progress (without counting a zone of pluvio-stormy time near the south-eastern coasts of Madagascar). If the simultaneous presence of three phenomena is not in oneself exceptional thing, that remains however not very frequent. The last time that that arrived, it was in 2003 (in February already), when GERRY, HAPE and ISHA coexisted.

Among the three currently followed meteors (FAVIO, GAMEDE and, far in the east, a tropical depression - not still named thus), most mature, FAVIO, penetrated on Mozambique this day, and this event also brings back for us to the cyclonic season 2002-2003, since the last episode in date of a depressionary sytème having affected Mozambique goes back to this same season 2002-2003, with JAPHET (at the beginning of March 2003).

Who more is, JAPHET had touched ground almost at the same place as FAVIO, i.e. in the north of the town of Vilanculos. Skirting a little more durably the coast than JAPHET, and with a higher intensity, there is not a doubt that FAVIO seriously had to put at evil all the zone around Vilanculos, sweeping more than 100 km of coast, as well as the tourist zone of the island of Bazaruto and dependences (archipelago with famous sites of diving) to broad of Vilanculos. FAVIO now will weaken quickly on ground, but could generate other concern if the associated rains had come to enlarge the affluents of the Zambezi already in believed for several weeks (with more than 100.000 people evacuated for consequence).

Lastly, for anecdote, announce that the last intense tropical cyclone to have struck Mozambique is the cyclone ELINE in 2000 (of sad memory for the country), which had touched ground more in north one… 22 February, thus 7 years ago day for day.

The other system currently being the subject of a detailed attention is GAMEDE. Being quickly developed since yesterday and in same time being moved with sharp pace in general direction of the west (more than 600 km traversed in 24h), this disturbance, from now on near to the threshold of the stage of tropical cyclone, was centered in this end of afternoon of Thursday to some 1000 km in the North-East of the Meeting. Characterized by a very broad depressionary circulation, this system will approach Mascareignes by the weekend and if no cyclonic threat is considered by Saturday, its evolution is to be followed closely.

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE

Date : 22/02/07 à 18 heures locales.

Objet : Intense activité perturbée sur le Sud-Ouest de l'océan Indien (complément)

Texte : Le Sud-Ouest de l'océan Indien est actuellement le siège d'une importante activité perturbée, avec pas moins de trois systèmes dépressionnaires en cours (sans compter une zone de temps pluvio-orageux à proximité des côtes sud-est de Madagascar). Si la présence simultanée de trois phénomènes n'est pas en soi chose exceptionnelle, cela demeure cependant peu fréquent. La dernière fois que cela est arrivé, c'était en 2003 (en février déjà), quand coexistèrent GERRY, HAPE et ISHA.

Parmi les trois météores actuellement suivis (FAVIO, GAMEDE et, loin à l'est, une dépression tropicale -non encore nommée donc-), le plus mature, FAVIO, a pénétré sur le Mozambique ce jour, et cet événement nous ramène également à la saison cyclonique 2002-2003, puisque le dernier épisode en date d'un sytème dépressionnaire ayant affecté le Mozambique remonte à cette même saison 2002-2003, avec JAPHET (début mars 2003).

Qui plus est, JAPHET avait touché terre quasiment au même endroit que FAVIO, c'est-à-dire au nord de la ville de Vilanculos. Longeant un peu plus durablement la côte que JAPHET, et à une intensité supérieure, il ne fait pas de doute que FAVIO a dû sérieusement mettre à mal toute la zone autour de Vilanculos, balayant plus de 100 km de côte, ainsi que la zone touristique de l'île de Bazaruto et dépendances (archipel avec sites de plongée renommés) au large de Vilanculos. FAVIO va maintenant s'affaiblir rapidement sur terre, mais pourrait engendrer d'autres soucis si les pluies associées venaient grossir les affluents du Zambèze déjà en crue depuis plusieurs semaines (avec plus de 100 000 personnes évacuées pour conséquence).

Enfin, pour l'anecdote, signalons que le dernier cyclone tropical intense à avoir frappé le Mozambique est le cyclone ELINE en 2000 (de triste mémoire pour le pays), qui avait touché terre plus au nord un ... 22 février, il y a donc 7 ans jour pour jour.

L'autre système faisant actuellement l'objet d'une attention particulière est GAMEDE. S'étant développée rapidement depuis hier et s'étant dans le même temps déplacée à vive allure en direction générale de l'ouest (plus de 600 km parcourus en 24h), cette perturbation, désormais proche du seuil du stade de cyclone tropical, était centrée en cette fin d'après-midi de jeudi à quelque 1000 km au nord-est de La Réunion. Caractérisé par une circulation dépressionnaire très large, ce système va se rapprocher des Mascareignes d'ici la fin de semaine et si aucune menace cyclonique n'est envisagée d'ici samedi, son évolution est à suivre de près.

http://www.meteo.fr/temps/domtom/La_Reunion/Evenement_du_mois/AccueilEvenement.html

[Category 5]

Favio will have the honor of being the first storm in my season 2007 Photobucket.

Any reports on damage?

[Chacor]

The category-four storm tore through the tourist town of Vilanculos, damaging homes, the town court and prison and uprooting trees.

Roads were also blocked by heavy rainfall.

"I can't do anything because all the roads have been blocked by falling trees and it's even impossible to try and rescue the people whose homes have been hit because there is no access," Sulemane Amugy, the town's mayor, told Reuters.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6385405.stm

[Chacor]

Still very impressive, even well inland - MF at 30 kt at 06Z.

[P.K.]

Just in case anyone is wondering Mozambique number the storms in relation to their category with a moderate TS cat 1, severe TS cat 2 and so on hence the category four mention in that above article.

[P.K.]

Zimbabwe in storm flood warning

The authorities in Zimbabwe have issued a flood warning after a tropical cyclone caused widespread damage in central Mozambique.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6389243.stm

[HURAKAN]

Cyclone Favio claims 4 lives

Maputo - A powerful tropical storm killed four people and injured at least 70 in Mozambique's resort town of Vilanculos, where thousands of homes were destroyed along with the hospital and power grid, said officials on Friday.

Cyclone Favio was downgraded to a tropical storm on Friday as wind speeds dropped from a peak of 270kph to between 60-80kph.

But officials fear rains from the storm could still dramatically worsen an existing flood disaster in the centre of the country.

Vilanculos Mayor Selmane Amugy said the deaths occurred when Favio crashed ashore early on Thursday, hitting people's homes as they were sleeping.

He said: "Four people were killed, 70 others seriously injured and about 2 000 homes were destroyed.

"There are no words to describe the drama. I haven't seen such a thing in my life.

Prison break

"All 600 prisoners escaped when the local jail was destroyed and we had to evacuate about 120 patients from the rural hospital."

Amugy said many key buildings in Vilanculos - a popular beach town favoured by tourists - were damaged and the local airport was closed.

"We had to call off all operations at the airport, trees at Tofo Beach were uprooted and homes destroyed and this worsened erosion," he said.

Tourist destinations in trouble

Bazaruto Island, another popular Mozambican tourist destination which is reachable only by boats and helicopters, was still cut off from communications as the regional electricity grid was wrecked.

At the peak of the summer season, Bazaruto attracts wealthy tourists from across the world to its upmarket lodges.

The government has dispatched an emergency team of medical personnel, engineers and technicians to assess the damage.

Mozambique's national weather agency, Inam, said the weakened storm was headed northwards toward the port city of Beira.

Officials fear it may take its rains onward toward the Zambezi river basin, where several weeks of severe flooding has already displaced more than 120 000 people.

Inam spokesperson Helder Sueia said: "It's no longer a tropical cyclone now, it's a tropical depression meaning it has weakened but still accompanied by heavy rains, it has winds of between 60 and 80kph."

Rain impacts flooding

He added that the storm unearthed trees and blew off rooftops in Beira's densely populated suburb of Pontagea on Friday.

"It's still taking the same direction and it's not as powerful as it was a few hours ago, but the rains can still impact on the flooding situation," he said.

Officials and humanitarian agencies are already battling to keep tens of thousands of flood refugees in central Mozambique supplied with food and fresh water.

The former Portuguese colony saw its worst disaster on record in 2000-2001 when a series of cyclones compounded widespread flooding in southern and central parts of the country, killing 700 people and driving nearly a half a million from their homes.

Source: http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/New ... 74,00.html

[Chacor]

The cyclone seems to be rotating counter-clockwise in the picture, wrong for a southern hemisphere cyclone!!!

I think they heard you! LOL



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6392959.stm -
South Africa is to help Mozambique cope with the aftermath of a powerful cyclone which hit the country as it was trying to recover from serious floods.

At least three people were killed and 70 injured in Thursday's cyclone and hundreds of homes were destroyed.

South Africa is offering helicopters to carry food to people in temporary camps and to allow Mozambican officials to assess the damage from the air.