Northern Mozambique was battered by heavy rains and strong winds on Monday as Cyclone Jude made landfall, marking the third cyclone to hit the region in just four months. According to the National Institute of Meteorology (INAM), the cyclone arrived with wind speeds of 140 kilometers per hour (87 mph) and gusts reaching 195 kilometers per hour before weakening into a severe tropical storm with thunderstorms.
As of Monday afternoon, no casualties had been reported.
Mozambique, frequently affected by tropical storms, experiences cyclone season from November to April, with around a dozen storms forming each year. In December, Cyclone Chido led to the deaths of at least 120 people and damaged nearly 120,000 homes. The following month, Cyclone Dikeledi caused at least five fatalities and destroyed approximately 3,500 homes.
According to the regional cyclone center in La Réunion, Jude is expected to weaken as it moves inland, circulating near the border between Mozambique and Malawi. However, forecasters warned that the storm could strengthen again as it heads southwest toward Madagascar.