H-Metro
Talent Gore
FOR now, we should be fine.
That is the message from weather experts, amid concerns over Cyclone Gombe.
“So far, from the trajectory, Cyclone Gombe, which is in Mozambique, is not coming to Zimbabwe,” the Meteorological Service Department has said.
Cyclone Gombe hit Mozambique on Friday and left a trail of destruction, killing 11 people.
Last month, the MSD projected that six more cyclones were likely to hit Zimbabwe.
“There is a projection of six more cyclones during the remainder of the current rainy season.
“Thus, a robust mechanism for monitoring natural phenomena cannot be overemphasised and their predictions have been very accurate,” said Local Government Minister, July Moyo.
MSD forecaster, Benjamin Kwenda, advised that the MSD was monitoring the cyclone.
“Zimbabwe is most likely not going to be hit by Cyclone Gombe,” he said.
“We will be monitoring the situation but we would like to advise the public that Cyclone Gombe is most likely not going to hit the country.”
Cyclone Gombe is the second cyclone that has hit other neighbouring countries, without hitting Zimbabwe.
Last month, the Met Dept issued a statement advising that Cyclone Batsirai was not going to hit Zimbabwe, even though it had left a trail of destruction in Madagascar.
In January, some parts of the country, especially Manicaland, were hit by Tropical Storm Ana, which left a trail of destruction.
Flash floods destroyed a total of 105 homes.
However, for some time now, the country has been battling with a dry spell, which has prompted the Government to commence cloud-seeding.
Some crops, especially those which were planted late, have started showing signs of moisture stress, due to the prolonged dry spell.
