Cyclone Dina not yet a threat

Cyclone Dina was heading towards the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, but was unlikely to affect the Mozambican mainland, humanitarian officials told IRIN on Thursday.

"Thanks to the cold water in the south, Dina is decreasing in intensity and will disappear in the south without reaching either Madagascar or Mozambique," Jean-Cedric Meeus, UNICEF logistics officer in Maputo told IRIN.

However, the Mozambican government, forced to cope with two successive years of flooding and storm damage, said it was not taking any chances.

Mozambican news reports on Wednesday quoted Mussa Mustafa, head of Mozambique's National Meteorology Institute (INAM) as saying that even though the cyclone was "likely to weaken" and currently did not pose a threat to Mozambique, if atmospheric conditions were right then the cyclone could intensify again.

Mustafa said that if this should happen then the southern Mozambican coast, particularly Inhambane province, would be at risk.

"INAM is monitoring the situation bearing in mind the impact that cyclones have on people's lives and on the economy. Measures to mitigate their impact must be taken in good time, and so we shall keep the public informed on the evolution of this phenomenon," Mustafa added.

Meanwhile, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest update on the situation in Mauritius, that Dina left three people dead and 50 wounded in its wake.

"The cyclone reached level 7 on the scale (highest level being 8). The wind gusts were at 206 km per hour in Port Louis and were accompanied by intermittent and torrential rain that caused severe floods in some areas of the city and in the fields," OCHA said.

It added: "There was very substantive damage caused to the infrastructure, the electrical power and telecommunications network. All electrical power was out in the island since Monday, 22 January and 90 percent of the city was still in the dark today (Wednesday). Heavy damage was also reported in the agricultural sector, especially sugar crops, one of the main economic sources in Mauritius."