Mozambique braces for cyclone season

Also: Re-introduced cheetahs breed in the Zambezi delta

Good afternoon. Mozambique’s weather forecasting institute has some dire warnings today about how bad this cyclone season could be — with up to ten cyclones expected to form in the Mozambique Channel, of which five could have “devastating consequences”.

In other rainy season news, the city of Nacala is bracing for another round of erosion when the river running through the town floods; mitigation works to prevent the erosion should have started by now but are still waiting on approval from the government in Maputo.

The port of Nacala has had issues unloading fuel imports over the festive season, leading to shortages in the region. The imports have now been unblocked, but access to fuel in Nampula remains patchy.

And there is good news on the wildlife conservation front: the first baby cheetah has been born in the Zambezi delta, since the species went extinct there more than 100 years ago. Cheetahs were first reintroduced in 2021, with eight more coming last September, supported by the Cabela Family foundation in the US, who donated half  a million dollars to bring them back.

Today’s headlines:

• Fuel shortage in Nampula causes disruption and high prices in informal market (Notícias, DW)

• Up to 10 cyclones could hit Mozambique until April, meteorology institute says (O País)

• Mozambique is biggest beneficiary of EU aid after Ukraine (Diario Economico)

• Project to combat soil erosion in Nacala-Porto awaits ministerial approval (Notícias)

• Cheetahs back in Zambezi delta after more than a century (Sol)