Tropical Cyclone Eloise in the Mozambique Channel

Tropical Cyclone Eloise in the Mozambique Channel Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory shows Tropical Cyclone Eloise as it approached East Africa on January 22, 2021.

The storm made landfall at 2:30 a.m. on January 23 in the coastal city of Beira, Mozambique with wind speeds of up to 99 miles per hour. 

Some low-lying buildings collapsed and cars were submerged in water. At least nine people were killed, and most of the victims were struck by falling trees.

There is an ongoing threat of severe flooding in Mozambique that could affect more than 200,000 people. Tropical Cyclone Eloise in the Mozambique Channel

The region was devastated two years ago, when Cyclones Idai and Kenneth killed around 600 people in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. Severe Tropical Storm Eloise is a current tropical cyclone strengthening over the Mozambique Channel. It is likely to intensify as it heads towards Africa. The disturbance that spawned Eloise was first noted on 14 January, and it entered a region marginally favorable to development.Tropical Cyclone Eloise is a current tropical cyclone strengthening over the Mozambique Channel. It is likely to intensify as it heads towards Africa. The disturbance that spawned Eloise was first noted on 14 January, and it entered a region marginally favorable to development. The seventh tropical depression, fifth named storm, and third severe tropical storm of the 2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, it developed into a tropical depression on 16 January, 

The image was captured by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer