Cyclone that appeared over month ago set to hit Mozambique again

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Mar 2023 14:56

The recent Cyclone killed around 25 and displaced thousands.

A man sweeps off access water as Cyclone Freddy hits areas in Mozambique, Vilankulos, Mozambique, February 24, 2023, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. (Reuters)

Cyclone Freddy is set to make landfall in Mozambique for the second time after ravaging Madagascar for the second time.

According to Mozambique’s National Institute of Meteorology, Freddy is expected to be a Category 3 cyclone on Friday night, with winds of about 99 mph and gusts of up to 118 mph.

Freddy is 34 days old today, which makes it the record holder for the longest-lasting tropical cyclone.

The World Meteorological Organization plans to launch an investigation to verify that Freddy is the world's longest cyclone.

The last record holder is Hurricane John in the Central Pacific which lasted 31 days in 1994.

Cyclone #Freddy is now the longest-lived tropical cyclone ever recorded WORLDWIDE! It’s trek across the entire Indian Ocean lasting an incredible 32 days, and counting! @weatherchannel pic.twitter.com/JWfsEyBJzT
— Scot Pilié (@ScotPilie_Wx) March 8, 2023

NASA has already considered that Freddy holds the record for the highest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) in the southern hemisphere.

According to the WMO, Freddy was first detected off Australia's northern coast on February 6, then "crossed the entire South Indian Ocean."

It then reached Madagascar on February 21 after it landed in Mozambique the following three days.

"The storm spent several days tracking over Mozambique and Zimbabwe, bringing heavy rains and flooding," the UN weather agency said. "It then looped back towards the Mozambique Channel and picked up energy from the warm waters and moved towards the south-western coast of Madagascar."

Around 21 people have been killed so far during the initial phases of the storm in southeastern Africa and another 8 were killed on Monday on Freddy's second landfall in Madagascar, the BBC reports.

🚨This is how climate inaction looks like At least 7 people dead and thousands displaced after Tropical Cyclone Freddy made its way across Mozambique 🇲🇿.

Authorities have reported:

7 Fatalities
22,000 Displaced
80,000 Affected
12,000 Houses Damaged. #ClimateEmergency pic.twitter.com/6oAUQvfqYe
— Nyombi Morris (@mnyomb1) March 1, 2023