Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa, the country's largest hydroelectric plant, announced today that it was interrupting discharges to stop the Zambezi River from rising in the face of the approach of tropical storm Freddy.

"With this hydrological management measure, the Cahora Bassa dam will contribute to a significant reduction in hydrometric levels in the lower Zambezi," said the president of Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), Boavida Muhambe, in a statement.

According to the HCB, the aim is to avoid aggravating the possible negative impacts of the passage of Tropical Cyclone Freddy.

"In this sense, the dam will be fulfilling one of its main functions, that of minimizing the harmful effects of extreme events downstream of the project," he concluded.

Cyclone Freddy, which is expected to hit Madagascar today, could lose strength but still reach Mozambique with the classification of a storm with destructive force between Thursday night and Friday morning.

Successive forecasts have pointed to a possible path for the storm that is increasingly south of the Zambezi valley, with the province of Inhambane now being identified as a possible entry point from the coast.