Wene Owino
PANA Correspondent
GABORONE, Botswana (PANA) - Already
ravaged by floods in the past weeks, Botswana Tuesday took emergency measures
to deal with the effects of cyclone Eline which is expected to hit the
landlocked country either Thursday or Friday.
The cyclone, sweeping across from the south-west Indian Ocean swept across the island nations of Madagascar and Mauritius, and entering the African mainland through Mozambique, has left a trail of deaths and destruction in its wake.
Addressing a hastily arranged joint press conference, the directors of the Disaster Preparedness Committee and Meteorology said that they were not sure what the cyclone has in store for Botswana.
Despite this, Botswana is not taking any chances. The authorities have raised the alarm and made contingency plans to deal with any adverse effects of the cyclone.
A draft emergency plan read at the press conference asserted that the cyclone would be dealt with in three phases: namely before, during and after it happens.
Among the measures to be taken are frequent updates on the situation through the media, evacuation of flood prone areas, avoiding use of electricity, stocking food and water, keeping people indoors and resuming normal operations only after the relevant authorities have given the green light.
Though the directors were not able to specify how long the cyclone would take, they said that it would affect eastern, central and north-eastern parts of the country.
It could also spread wider, they added.
The last time Botswana experienced the effects of a cyclone was in 1995. Others had occurred in 1972 and 1977-78.
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