MAPUTO, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The government of Mozambique activated here on Wednesday the red alert for the northern region of the country, particularly the provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado over the imminent cyclone Kenneth expected to make landfall later on Wednesday.
The alert was issued by the Disaster Management Coordination Council in its extraordinary session chaired by the Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho de Rosario, where more than 692,000 people were estimated at risk by the National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC).
The General Director of INGC Augusta Maita said it would be a challenge in terms of humanitarian assistance, so the institute proposed an air bridge in case it is necessary, besides the resources including boats and vehicles they already have.
Mozambique National Meteorology Institute (INAM) said the cyclone is intensifying and will reach the level of tropical cyclone category 3 in the afternoon of Wednesday.
"Its route is towards the coast of Cabo Delgado where the epicenter will be on the continental part of Palma district at the end of Thursday, currently the cyclone is 150 km from the Cabo Delgado coast and is moving at a speed of 25 kilometers an hour," said the Director of INAM Aderito Aramuge.
Authorities and international society are especially concerned about the cyclone's possible impact in the region where communities are still recovering from the devastation of Cyclone Idai, which affected at least 1.8 million people across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, leaving nearly 1,000 killed.
