It’s been a tough couple of weeks for people living in the northern, central and eastern parts of South Africa as well as many parts of Mozambique after severe heavy rains caused damage and flooding. The swelling of several large rivers led to infrastructure being washed away, leaving infrastructure damaged and roads impassable. This has meant that teams in Mozambique’s Limpopo and Zinave national parks have had their hands full with these challenging conditions.
Now, just as the weather has begun to stabilise, cyclone Freddy, which has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, is due to make landfall in Mozambique this morning.
The Eye Of Cyclone Freddy
After already making landfall and causing severe damage in Madagascar earlier this week, cyclone Freddy is now on the path towards Zinave National Park in Mozambique, with the eye of the storm predicted to pass over the park’s HQ. With strong winds and up to 500mm of rain expected, the teams have been hard at work preparing for the wrath of Freddy.
Preparations In Zinave
Zinave’s Counter-Poaching Coordinator, Tiaan Kleynhans and his team, have been working non-stop to make sure that the park’s staff and rangers are kept as safe as possible by securing extra food and equipment. This includes first-aid kits, stretchers should there be any injuries, life jackets, small hand-held radios should communication be affected, spotlights, ropes and axes.
Having access to equipment like this is extremely important as it will help rangers to assist the communities surrounding the park should they need it.
The team will continue their daily fence patrols to ensure that if any damage has occurred from fallen trees or flooding, no animals will leave the sanctuary. In the unlikely event that this happens, the crew will quickly mobilise to move the animals back into the park’s sanctuary.
To minimise possible damage, the team also do rigorous checks to make sure that the park’s infrastructure, such as the hangar and its aircraft, are secured.
Peace Parks Foundation wishes all those affected good luck over the next couple of days and is grateful for the hard work that has already gone into keeping everyone safe.
Stay tuned to Peace Parks TV next week to get updates from our colleagues in Mozambique.
