CPU readies for Cyclone Alvaro

THE Civil Protection Unit in Manicaland Province has escalated its preparedness as Cyclone Alvaro swilled off the Mozambique coast.

The tropical storm formed off the Mozambican coast near Beira and headed towards Madagascar where it has since made a landfall.

But fears abound that it may make a U-turn heading back to the Mozambican coast.

Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza, confirmed that the provincial Civil Protection Unit has escalated its preparedness.

“The provincial CPU committees have been reactivated in readiness to deal with the potential disaster. At district level, the district committees have been instructed to sensitise communities in flood prone areas to be on high alert.

“Development partners are also being mobilised to be ready to provide material and other forms of appropriate support,” said Minister Mugadza.

This week, the Civil Protection Department’s national director, Mr Nathan Nkomo, said tropical storms are full of surprises since they are natural phenomena, hence the need to prepare.

“Given the time we are in at the moment, we are in the rainfall season and we remain activated. What we only need to do in the wake of Cyclone Alvaro is to escalate our preparedness to a greater level now, given that we are at the peak of the cyclone period.

“I have talked to the Meteorological Department, and they said the trajectory is going eastwards towards Madagascar, but we cannot take chances.

“It is a natural phenomenon. Look at what Cyclone Freddy did to Malawi, destroying unexpectedly. The way Cyclone Alvaro is going might not be the final one,” he said.

Several cyclonic storms have hit Zimbabwe in recent years, with Cyclone Idai leaving a trail of destruction after killing an estimated 600 people in Chipinge and Chimanimani districts in Manicaland Province.

Cyclone Idai also affected Masvingo and Mashonaland East provinces.