Cyclone Eloise – alert!

Pediatric care Africa is on full disaster alert and ready to respond to possible disaster areas in South Africa as tropical cyclone Eloise is set to intensify.

Weather experts are warning South Africans to brace themselves for heavy rains over the next few days.

The tropical system developed off the north-eastern coast of Madagascar, but it is unsure of exactly where it will make landfall

Professor of Climatology at the Global Change Institute, Francois Engelbrecht, said severe winds and flooding could be possible.

“Right now for South Africa, if the storm is going to follow this track into Southern Mozambique and then towards our eastern escarpment in the North East, some parts of our Limpopo province and then southwards along the escarpment in Mpumalanga all the way to Swaziland, these areas [are] getting 100mm of rainfall on Sunday and Monday.”

Engelbrecht said modelling predicts up to 200mm of rain in certain areas, indicating a high chance of flooding.

We at Pediatric care Africa is closely monitoring this weather development and will respond to assist people affected if needed or asked to do so.

Should the need arise we will supply medical assistance, search and recovery assistance and basic food supplies to assist persons injured or made homeless by this storm as an initial response.

Let us hope the winds calm and storm Eloise quiets down before landfall.