Tropical storm Eloise threatens to disrupt South Africa's power supply over the weekend

Mozambique is bracing for the arrival of a cyclone that threatens to disrupt one of its key ports and flood power plants in South Africa.

Tropical Storm Eloise is expected to become a cyclone before making landfall later Friday or early Saturday near the port of Beira.

Recent storms and cyclones have brought flooding to Mozambique and downed lines that export electricity to South Africa from the Cahora Bassa hydropower dam.

Eloise is forecast to lose strength as it moves across land, while still dumping rain in eastern and northern South Africa, where the nation generates most of its power from coal.

The storm probably won’t be strong enough at the point when it reaches South Africa to do major damage to infrastructure, but any poorly controlled flooding could be destructive, she said

Sasol, the fuel and chemical maker, has a gas-processing facility on the coast south of Beira and said that it’s taking the necessary precautions before the storm arrives