New cyclone poised to hit vulnerable central Mozambique

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - A cyclone is bearing down on a region of Mozambique that’s still recovering from a devastating storm two years ago.

Mozambique says Cyclone Eloise is expected to make landfall Saturday morning in the central region that saw hundreds of people killed in flooding in the wake of Cyclone Idai in 2019.

Mozambican authorities have begun evacuations, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday.

He said rivers in the region “are already at alert levels, and flooding has been reported in several locations ahead of Eloise’s landfall,” bringing concerns about “the prospects of significant flooding.”

The low-lying province of Sofala and the city of Beira, with a population of roughly half a million people, lie in the new cyclone’s path. Both were badly hit by Idai, and well over 100,000 people were displaced.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it is “worried about the safety of over 1 million people in high-risk areas.”