Cyclone Kenneth to hit Mozambique and Tanzania on Thursday

A tropical cyclone is expected to make landfall in Mozambique later this week, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) has confirmed.

Speaking to TimesLIVE, SAWS forecaster Wayne Venter said Cyclone Kenneth was currently a moderate tropical storm and was expected to make landfall on Thursday afternoon.

“The storm's current location is 10 degrees south and 49.6 degrees east off Madagascar's coast. It is expected to affect the southern parts of Tanzania and northern side of Mozambique," he said.

Venter said the cyclone was not expected to cause as much damage as Cyclone Idai, which hit in March and killed more than 1,000 people in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

“This is a moderate cyclone, whereas Idai was an intense cyclone," he said.

"We're expecting heavy rainfall, flooding and sustained winds of 130km/h to 150km/h. This will be coupled with high swells – between 6m and 8m – and rough sea conditions."

He said Cyclone Kenneth could also affect rainfall in South Africa. “It might cause no rainfall for the summer-rainfall areas in the Mozambique Channel. It's like a ball of energy drawing energy towards it - so little rainfall over parts of SA during that time,” he said.

According to international weather forecasting service AccuWeather, rainfall of 200 to 300mm is expected between Wednesday and Sunday.