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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
A weather event in the Indian Ocean that experts feared could develop into a tropical cyclone has downgraded into a depression.

A tropical depression has reduced intensity as compared to a tropical cyclone.

Tropical Depression Chalane has however, caused massive flooding in Madagascar, killing 26 people and is moving towards Mozambique.

The phenomenon is said to be traveling at almost half the speed of Cyclone Idai whose devastating effects are still being felt in Chimanimani, Manicaland Province and surrounding areas.

The fears of another cyclone had triggered the Government to activate disaster response systems.

Cyclone Idai killed more than 300 people, left hundreds missing while 20 000 were displaced as property worth millions of dollars was destroyed in Manicaland and Masvingo provinces.

A finer report on how Tropical Depression Chalane will impact on the country is expected to be released today at midday, the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) said yesterday.

In a statement, MSD said rains of approximately 100 millimetres per day would be received in parts that would be hit by the depression, half the amounts that were received during Cyclone Idai last year.

“Tropical Depression Chalane (previously a tropical storm) made landfall over Madagascar today, Sunday 27 December; but the effects of this system were felt as early as Friday 25 December 2020 over the island, with massive flooding and reports of at least 26 people feared dead as 18 were swept away trying to cross a flooded river,” read the report.

“While interactions with land will depreciate the effects of this system, it is set to emerge over water in the Mozambique Channel where a generally westward direction, towards the coast of Mozambique, is highly probable due to the steering winds.

Within the channel, it should re-intensify to peak spinning winds of 75km/hour (which is less than half the wind spin-speed of Tropical Cyclone Idai at 175km/hr) before it makes final landfall near Beira, Mozambique on Wednesday 30 December at 10PM, where interaction with the rugged terrain will steadily weaken the system and lead to dissipation,” read the MSD statement.

It forecast heavy rains from tomorrow night.

“Due to the nature of cloud bands, the effects may be felt as early as late Tuesday night, 29 December, with rainfall amounts of +100mm/24hr (less than half of Tropical Cyclone Idai which ranged above 200mm/24hr over Chimanimani and surrounding areas),” read the statement. – @nqotshili