(Bloomberg) -- Filipo made landfall on Mozambique’s south-central coastline as a severe tropical storm, and the authorities said it may impact more than half a million people.

The storm’s center struck north of the town of Inhassoro before 3 a.m. local time, according to satellite imagery published on Zoom Earth’s website. Filipo may affect about 525,000 people, Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Management said. 

Sasol Ltd.’s onshore natural-gas facilities located near Inhassoro are in Filipo’s path. In response to questions, the company said it’s too early to report on the impact of the storm given that it’s still within the area.

Mozambique’s weather agency had forecast maximum wind gusts of as high as 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour before landfall.

While Filipo isn’t as powerful as the extreme storms that have ravaged the southeast African nation in recent years — such as cyclones Idai and Freddy — it will bring torrential rain across the southern area of Mozambique, posing risks to people, infrastructure and crops. Between 100 millimeters (4 inches) and 250 millimeters of rain are forecast for Mozambique’s Inhambane, Gaza and Sofala provinces Tuesday, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

--With assistance from Paul Burkhardt.

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