Dineo lashed Mozambique with 200mm of rain

Initial estimates suggest that up to 200mm of rainfall lashed Inhambane on the coast of Mozambique after Dineo made a landfall on Wednesday.

The South African Weather Service said while no direct rainfall measurements were available‚ their initial figures were based on satellite-derived estimates.

“Strong winds‚ exceeding 100km/h as well as torrential rainfall and very rough seas were most likely the main weather-related impacts‚” said chief forecaster Kevin Rae.

• Storm of our Generations - #Dineo memes will blow you awayWith Dineo shifting its gaze from Mozambique to South Africa, social media has wasted no time seeing the funnier side of the approaching storm. 

According to the weather service‚ Dineo had since moved progressively inland and was now classified as a tropical depression.

The vortex of was becoming more indistinct as the system weakened. “Notwithstanding this weakening trend‚ the system will still pose a great risk for the next 36 to 48 hours‚ particularly in terms of further exceptionally heavy rainfall and resultant flooding‚” said Rae.

• WATCH: 16 dolphins stranded on beach after #Dineo pummels MozambiqueFragments of roof‚ twisted corrugated iron‚ trees snapped in half and stranded dolphins were among the sights that greeted residents in parts of Mozambique on Thursday after an overnight pummelling from Cyclone Dineo. 

The storm may have passed but the southern parts of Mozambique‚ such as Beira‚ could still experience heavy showers and thunderstorms.

You can see what Dineo looks like with this interactive widget:

“There is also an increasing risk of heavy showers and thunderstorms over the lowveld and escarpment regions of Mpumalanga and Limpopo today‚ especially towards evening and overnight‚ when very heavy rain‚ of the order of 100 to 200mm can be expected over the eastern half of Limpopo province‚ continuing into Friday‚” said Rae.

• WATCH: Incredible time-lapse of #Dineo hitting MozambiqueWatch this incredible time-lapse of Dineo hitting Maputo Bay in Mozambique on Wednesday. 

Patches of heavy rain could persist over the northern parts of Namibia and Botswana on Saturday.

- TMG Digital/The Times