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Jun 4, 2019

StEER Product Release

StEER Releases Event Briefing on Cyclones Idai and Kenneth

Two major tropical cyclones made landfall on the Mozambique coastline within a six weeks of each other resulting in over 1000 fatalities and causing significant wind and flooding damage to the coastal cities of Beira and Pemba.


Cyclone Idai made landfall on March 14, 2019 as a Category 3 tropical cyclone (hurricane) with the eye passing just North of Beira, the second largest city in Mozambique. Because cyclones rotate clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, the Southwest quadrant of the storm has the highest wind speeds and most severe storm surge and waves. Over 1000 fatalities were reported in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.


Cyclone Kenneth made landfall just north of the city of Pemba in northern Mozambique on April 25, 2019 as a Category 4 tropical cyclone, the strongest to make landfall in Mozambique in recorded history. Local authorities were able to evacuate over 30,000 people from coastal areas exposed to the storm, possibly as a result of the lessons learned from Idai. At the time this briefing was authored, only 41 fatalities had been reported in Mozambique with another 7 fatalities in the Comores as Cyclone Kenneth passed North of the island nation.


Access the full Event Briefing HERE.

Date of Product Release:
June 4, 2019
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