The South African Weather Service (SAWS) released a statement on January 24 that a tropical low began rapidly intensifying over the open ocean to the northeast of Madagascar and has since made landfall in Madagascar, claiming 34 lives, before causing flooding in Mozambique.
Dullstroom 25/01 06h15: Far northern parts of SA can expect some spinoff cloud from tropical storm ‘Ana’ today. pic.twitter.com/8GjXFYoNnm
— Dullstroom Weather Station (@Dullsweather) January 25, 2022
Situation overview
Storm Ana crossed over Madagascar on January 22, claiming the lives of 34 people, and torrential rains forced residents to evacuate their homes to move to higher ground. The majority of those left homeless are in the capital Analamanga area, where neighbourhoods are located near flooded rivers.
Tropical storm Ana has caused widespread flooding in Madagascar, including in the capital city, raising the death toll from recent heavy rains to 34 people and displacing tens of thousands, officials say. pic.twitter.com/a4UsxagdAx
— CS_City-Solutions P. Mueller 🗽 🇺🇸 🇩🇪 🇬🇧 (@mueller_nyc) January 25, 2022
In Mozambique, the storm made landfall over the weekend, impacting the nation’s northern and central provinces, causing wind speeds of up to 100 km/h, as well as regional flooding. The storm also grounded flights in northern and central Mozambique. The video below shows a flash flood in the town of Beira in Mozambique, Inhambane province.
According to the Zimbabwe Herald, heavy rains will continue as the storm moves inland, where it will influence southern Malawi before proceeding to northern and eastern Zimbabwe.
In Malawi, thousands of people are now facing water and power cuts as flooding has forced the nations power utility to shut down many of its power plants.
Zimbabwe’s meteorological services also stated that localised downpours above 50mm are expected from 25 to 27 January, with moderate rains in other regions of South Africa.
The storm is unlikely to affect South Africa according to a statement from SAWS, but high rainfall is predicated in the northern parts of South Africa in the upcoming week until Saturday.
Featured image: Screenshot from video
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