The Kenya Meteorological Department has allayed fears of severe effects of the tropical cyclone named ‘Jobo’ expected to hit some parts of Tanzania between Sunday and Tuesday.

Lamu county meteorological department director Edward Ngure said there is no cause for alarm as the Kenyan coast will not be severely affected by the cyclone, which has been noted to be moving in the general direction towards the East African coastline.

“For now the strength of that cyclone has reduced, we don’t expect much at the Kenyan coast except only some wind which we can say it’s between 10-15 notes which is about 40km per hour, and also some  normal rains,” Ngure said yesterday.

His pronouncement came a day after Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) sent a warning about the tropical cyclone.

Mombasa Port and Shipping notice had issued a warning notice for the period of April 25-27, during which time the port and the surrounding regions will experience bad weather in the way of heavy rains accompanied by strong winds.

The authority has advised all ships in the harbour to look out for this imminent bad weather and take every necessary action to secure vessels against strong winds including doubling of mooring lines where possible.

“All ships drifting outside port limits to maintain not less than 15 nautical miles from the nearest point of land and keep crew and engines on standby,” KPA said.

KPA has also urged the public to beware of dangers associated with strong winds, heavy rains and floods.

Mombasa Port Control and pilots will remain available on VHF Channel 12 and 16 to assist ships where required and where possible while port fire service will remain on standby to respond to landslide emergencies during the notice period.

Zanzibar’s authorities have halted all sea activities, including fishing and transport, until further notice as a tropical storm approaches the Tanzanian islands.

Jobo has been downgraded from a cyclone to a depression but is still forecast to bring heavy rain and strong winds.