MOGADISHU, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The East Africa bloc's weather prediction centre said on Saturday that an active tropical cyclone named Mekunu does not pose any threat to Somalia as it had earlier warned.
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)'s Center for Climate Prediction and Application Center (ICPAC), which is closely monitoring the situation, said the tropical cyclone Mekunu is now located off the coast of Yemen and is causing heavy rainfall and flooding in the region.
ICPAC said the latest forecast from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model run at ICPAC indicates a weakening of the tropical storm as it landfalls over Yemen.
"However, it poses no threat to Somalia as the expected rainfall is light (less than 20 mm in three days; and the winds are not strong (less than 20 m/s," ICPAC said in an alert.
The regional bloc's weather prediction centre said the tropical cyclone is also expected to move westward along the coast after it made landfall in Yemen.
The bloc had warned that as the cyclone progresses north, parts of the cyclone circulation and associated clouds and rains will hit along the coast of Somalia.
ICPAC said it is monitoring the situation and will issue updates to this forecast daily for the next few days.
The cyclone comes after a powerful tropical cyclone with winds in excess of 120 km/per hour and an entire year's worth of rain which landed in Somalia on May 19 left destruction and death in its wake in Somaliland, endangering the lives of thousands of children in the region.
According to the charity, Cyclone Sagar tore through the coastal north of the country, destroying homes and livelihoods in its wake.
According to Somaliland authorities, at least 25 people have been killed, 27 others are missing and hundreds of homes destroyed following tropical cyclone Sagar that caused heavy rains and flooding in Somaliland.
