DAR ES SALAAM | Xinhua | Tanzania’s weather authorities have issued an alert for a hurricane caused by the presence of low pressure in the Indian Ocean, east of the coast of Mtwara Region.
The Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) said in a statement that the severe tropical storm “Hidaya,” which was currently approximately 401 kilometers east of Mtwara Region’s Indian Ocean coast with a maximum wind speed of 130 kilometers per hour, has continued to strengthen into a tropical cyclone moving westward close to Tanzania.
The presence of Tropical Cyclone Hidaya near the coast of Tanzania is expected to dominate and affect the weather patterns, causing periods of heavy rains and strong winds in some areas of Mtwara, Lindi, Coast, Dar es Salaam, Tanga, and Morogoro regions, and on Zanzibar’s islands of Unguja and Pemba, said the statement.
The TMA said the current weather patterns show that the low pressure is expected to strengthen and reach the status of a full hurricane by Friday. “While the low pressure continues to strengthen, it is also expected to move toward some coastal areas of our country from the night of Friday.”
It also said the low pressure is expected to continue to exist in the coastal areas of the country and weaken after May 6. ■