Filipo expected to intensify to severe tropical storm or tropical cyclone stage, says meteorological service
|Published
Durban — Moderate tropical storm Filipo is expected to intensify to the severe tropical storm or even tropical cyclone stage and then lose its tropical characteristics over the next 48 hours.
That was according to the meteorological service, Météo-France, in its Wednesday afternoon update on tropical storm Filipo.
The service reported that Filipo went out to sea on Wednesday morning in the Bay of Maputo and is moving towards the south-east, gradually moving away from inhabited land.
“It is currently at the moderate tropical storm stage and is expected to rapidly intensify to the severe tropical storm or even tropical cyclone stage and then lose its tropical characteristics in the next 48 hours,” Météo-France said in the afternoon.
“The weather conditions remain disturbed this late afternoon in the north-east of South Africa in terms of rain but an improvement is expected in the evening.
“Subsequently, Filipo will no longer represent a threat to inhabited lands,” Météo-France said.
Also in the afternoon, the South African Weather Service (Saws) reminded citizens of its severe weather alerts for Wednesday night.
Saws issued three weather alerts for KwaZulu-Natal:
- Yellow level 4 warning: Disruptive rainfall leading to flooding of roads and settlements, difficulty driving on dirt roads, damage to infrastructure and mud-based houses is expected in the north-eastern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
- Orange level 6 warning: Disruptive rainfall leading to flooding of roads and settlements, difficulty driving on dirt roads, damage to infrastructure and mud-based houses is expected over the extreme north-eastern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
- Yellow level 4 warning: Damaging winds and waves are expected between Richards Bay and Kosi Bay.
Earlier, Météo-France said weather conditions remained disrupted in the morning in the Maputo province of Mozambique, eSwatini and the north-east of South Africa with further heavy rain expected before improving during the day.
Out at sea, the waves were still strong in the morning with heights between 4m and 5m but gradually decreasing during the day.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Refugee Agency in Mozambique reported that according to the National Institute for Disaster Management, as of March 12, 2 780 people were affected by tropical storm Filipo. Two people were killed, seven were injured and 43 families were displaced.
According to @ICalamidades, as of 12 March, 2,780 people were affected by the Tropical Storm #Filipo, killing 2, injuring 7 and displacing 43 families so far.
— UNHCR Mozambique (@UNHCRMozambique) March 13, 2024
UNHCR will continue to monitor #Filipo during its passage through Mozambique🇲🇿. pic.twitter.com/0LhTwFw0R0
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