Why does South Africa usually not experience the full impact of Tropical Cyclones?
Answers
CAPE TOWN - Most South Africans wouldn’t associate tropical cyclones with our shores but they can and do affect our country. They are rare occurrences, with only one storm having crossed into our borders in the last 33 years.
By the time they reach us they have usually been considerably weakened after passing over Madagascar and Mozambique, by cooler waters off our east coast, or interfering non-tropical weather systems. For this reason it is extremely rare that wind is a cause of major damage here, but flooding is usually the factor resulting in damage and loss of life.
Tropical storm activity over South Africa was especially high in the 1970’s. Tropical depression Caroline and cyclone Eugenie both affected the country in February 1972. In 1976 tropical cyclone Danae brought heavy rainfall and flooding to the north-eastern part of the country, and a year later, in ‘77, tropical storm Emilie brought major flooding to a similar area with 300 hundred deaths reported in the Limpopo Valley
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