Nampula, Mozambique, March 12, 2025 (Lusa) - A total of 272,757 customers are without electricity in districts of Nampula province, in northern Mozambique, due to the bad weather caused by the passage of tropical cyclone Jude, the Mozambican electricity company announced on Wednesday.
"Due to the bad weather affecting the northern region, Nampula Province has suffered damage to 74 kilometres of medium and low voltage lines, as well as the collapse of six transformer stations and two high voltage towers on the line between Namialo and Monapoque," reads a statement from Eletricidade de Mozambique (EDM).
The power cuts affected the Nampula, Angoche and Nacala substations, which supply around 15 districts and some neighbourhoods in that northern province.
According to EDM, the damage caused by the cyclone is estimated at around 100 million meticais (€1.4 million).
"At the moment, the access roads are blocked, making it difficult to restore the power supply to the affected customers. However, the normal power supply has already been restored to part of the cities of Nampula, Nacala and the districts of Monapo, Liupo and Mongicual," it said.
At least six people died, 20 were injured and another 9,525 were affected by Cyclone Jude in the provinces of Nampula and Niassa, in northern Mozambique, and Zambézia, in the centre of the country, according to figures released today by the National Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (INGD).
By Tuesday, Jude had also affected 17,401 schoolchildren, 264 teachers, 59 schools and 181 classrooms, all data corresponding to the provinces of Nampula and Niassa, in northern Mozambique, and Zambézia, in the centre of the country.
The tropical cyclone entered Mozambique at dawn on Monday, with winds of 140 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 195 kilometres per hour, Manuel Francisco, a meteorologist at the National Meteorological Institute (Inam), told Lusa.
Soon after entering the country, the cyclone "reverted to the stage of a severe tropical storm and over the next two days it could vary between a moderate and severe storm," said the meteorologist, adding that the system could also cause heavy rainfall of up to 250 millimetres in 24 hours.
The INGD said on Sunday that the new cyclone could affect a total of 341,000 people, noting that the emergency operational committees have already been activated and that meetings are taking place between the government and partners to map out all the resources available to assist those affected.
Mozambique is in the middle of the rainy season, which runs from October to April, a period in which cyclones Chido and Dikeledi, which also affected the north of the country, have already been recorded.
The cyclones hit Mozambique between December last year and January, with the greatest impact on the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula, affecting around 736,000 people and causing the destruction of public and private infrastructure.
Extreme events, such as cyclones and storms, caused at least 1,016 deaths in Mozambique between 2019 and 2023, affecting around 4.9 million people, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE).
The African country is considered one of the most severely affected by global climate change, facing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, but also prolonged periods of severe drought.
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