Tropical Cyclone Jobo made a weak landfall on Tanzania’s coastline on Sunday as residents remained on high alert following a warning by weathermen.
Confirming the latest development, Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) said the cyclone lost its momentum as it made a land fall in areas of South of Pwani and Dar es Salaam on the night of April 24 as a result its effects were not felt as earlier on expected.
“The situation was as a result of continued strong winds in the direction of Cyclone Jobo. Rain clouds that accompanied the cyclone have also spread to the sea and coastal areas of Tanzania and Mozambique,” the weatherman said in a statement released on Sunday.
TMA assured the country that Cyclone Jobo is currently not in Tanzania and no direct damage is expected.
Read: Rare Tropical Cyclone Approaching Tanzania’s Largest City
However, the Authority noted that the remains of the clouds that accompanied the cyclone could cause rain in some parts of the Coastal Zone.
Tanzanian media report that normalcy has returned in the country’s largest city, Dar es Salaam, that had braced itself for the wrath of the storm for the first time since independence.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), had also advised that all ships in the harbour to look out for the imminent bad weather and take every necessary action to secure vessels against strong winds including doubling of mooring lines where possible.
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“All ships drifting outside port limits to maintain not less than 15 nautical miles from the nearest point of land and keep crew and engines on standby,” KPA said in a statement issued following the development of low-pressure systems in the South Western Indian.
Tropical Cyclone Jobo is equivalent to a strong tropical storm with winds moving at nearly 100 kilometres per hour.
Despite the alert issued on Thursday night, some experts had predicted that environmental conditions in the region such as its proximity to the equator would weaken the storm prior to making a landfall in the past weekend.
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Landfalling cyclones are almost unheard of in Tanzania due to its close proximity to the equator, where the Coriolis force — what causes the storm to rotate — is weaker.
Records show only two other tropical cyclones to have ever made it to the shores of Tanzania since the 19th century: the “Zanzibar Cyclone” of 1872 and Cyclone Lindi of 1952.
The storms struck the nation 80 years and one day apart, leaving behind mass destruction and loss of countless lives.
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