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BLANTYRE, MALAWI —Malawi is on high alert for the impact of Tropical Cyclone Chido, as meteorological experts said Friday the cyclone will bring heavy rain and flooding to the country's south.
An update from Malawi's Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services said the cyclone, which at the time was northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, has maintained its strength with maximum winds of 250 kilometers per hour.
It said the cyclone is expected to sustain that intensity through Saturday afternoon as it slowly moves westward at a speed of 22 kilometers per hour, with significant potential for heavy rainfall.
According to the update, Cyclone Chido will likely pass through 11 districts in southern Malawi - Mangochi, Machinga, Phalombe, Balaka, Mulanje, Blantyre, Thyolo, Chiradzulu, Zomba, Mwanza and Neno.
It's expected to make landfall Sunday near Nacala in Mozambique, causing heavy rain and flooding in some areas until Tuesday.
Chipiliro Khamula, spokesperson for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs, told VOA that the agency has advised people in flood-prone areas to move to higher ground and follow evacuation orders.
"We have alerted all [district] councils and activated all clusters for swift preparatory and anticipatory actions," Khamula said. "We have also made standby arrangements for the deployment of a search-and-rescue team comprising the Malawi Defense Force, the Malawi Police Service, the Marine Department and the Malawi Red Cross Society."
Tropical Cyclone Chido comes a year after Cyclone Freddy, which killed over 1,000 people in southern Malawi and washed away large numbers of crops and livestock. Freddy also hit Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
This year, even before the coming cyclone, Malawi has had to cope with the impact of El Nino weather conditions, which caused drought and food shortages for more than a quarter of the country's population of 20 million.
Paul Turnbull, country director for the World Food Program in Malawi, told VOA via a messaging app on Friday that the WFP has available food stocks in its warehouses to complement the government's food stocks.
"These stocks were mainly intended to be food assistance for people affected by El Nino as the requirement for El Nino persists," he said. "If food is needed to respond to Cyclone Chido, WFP will be seeking support to cover these costs so that we would not compromise the support for the ongoing El Nino response."
Turnbull also said the WFP has boats to assist the Malawi government fleet if boats are needed to deliver food and rescue victims of post-cyclone flooding.