BEFORE making landfall, tropical Cyclone Freddy was considered by the World Meteorological Office (WMO) to be ‘remarkable’, predicting it could become ‘the longest-lasting storm of its kind on record’.
WMO closely monitored this ‘remarkable storm’ on its long journey across the entire South Indian Ocean, from the North Australian coast where it first developed over two months ago, before it slammed onto African soil with devastating winds and dangerous sea surges near the impact zones.
Tropical Cyclone Freddy cut a destructive path from Mauritius, where it made landfall about 140km north-west of Mauritius on February 20 and Madagascar on February 21 2023, bringing strong winds and dangerous sea conditions.
Three days later, on February 24, Cyclone Freddy made landfall in Mozambique between Govuro and Vilankulo in Inhambane Province, bringing with it sustained wind velocities of up to 120km per hour and heavy rains which led to major flooding.
Tropical cyclones are described as low pressure systems that form over warm tropical waters (when the sea-surface temperature is above 26.5°C).
They can continue for many days, even weeks and may follow quite erratic paths.
A cyclone is said to dissipate once it moves over land or cooler ocean waters.
As intense Cyclone Freddy headed towards Mauritius and Madagascar before heading towards Mozambique, warnings were in place for expected extreme winds and heavy rainfall.
Led by the governments’ ‘Operational Readiness’, activities were underway as Cyclone Freddy approached across the Indian Ocean.
Battening down, Mauritius and Madagascar braced for floods and storm surges; flights were halted and the stock exchange shut down while emergency teams braced for heavy rains, floods and landslides.
The government’s disaster management office sent tents, ropes and chainsaws and other supplies to affected districts.
In Madagascar, many areas affected by Cyclone Freddy’s landfall near the city of Mananjary and Manakara town on February 5 and February 23 respectively, were still struggling to recover from the impacts of Cyclone Batsirai and Cyclone Emnati, which tore through south-east Madagascar in 2022.
They destroyed homes, infrastructure and crops.
About 874 000 people were still facing severe food insecurity in the Grand Sud-Est.
Both classified as ‘Category Three’ cyclones, Cyclone Batsirai and Cyclone Emnati were among the strongest tropical cyclones to hit Africa and the Southern hemisphere.
In January 2023, Tropical Storm Cheneso killed 33 people in Madagascar.
Powerful and compact, Tropical Storm Cheneso generated extreme winds near its centre but, having a limited zone of influence, its effects were not felt beyond 200km from the centre.
Passing north of Mauritius and La Reunion on February 20 2023, Cyclone Freddy, by now at an intense stage and moving west-south-west, made landfall on the eastern coast of the island of Madagascar between Mahanoro and Manakara in south-east on Tuesday evening, February 21, about 1 130 west of Mauritius towards the coast of Africa.
According to Meteo Madagascar, the regions of Atsinanana, Vatovavy and Fitovinany were under yellow alert (threat), while Analanjirofo, Atsimo, Atsinanana, Alaotra, Analamanga, Itasy, Vakinankaratra, Amoron’i mania, Matsiatra Ambony, Ihorombe, Menabe, Beroroha, Ankazoabo, Sakaraha, Morombe and Toliara regions were under a green alert (warning),
The Save the Children were already responding to the impact of six tropical storms that occurred in the previous year, reaching over to 6 000 children and their families through cash transfers, health outreach services, child protection and hygiene materials. According to Save the Children, more than one million children were at risk as record-breaking Category Five Tropical Cyclone Freddy hurtled towards Madagascar and called for “…higher-income countries such as the UK to increase climate funding, to support children, who are on the sharp end of the crisis.”
After devastating the three Indian Ocean islands, the system arrived in the Mozambique Channel on February 22 where it stalled for two days and re-strengthen before landing in Mozambique on February 23, and Zimbabwe; bringing further torrential rain and flooding.
As it posed a direct threat across the region, Mozambique faced multiple threats as very heavy rains affected Gaza, Manica, Maputo, Inhambane and Sofala provinces, causing extensive flooding and severe landslides.
Due to the heavy downpours lashing Mozambique, the Umbeluze River, near the Mozambican capital Maputo, overflowed, resulting in bodies from a cemetery on the banks of the Umbeluze River being swept into nearby farms and spreading across residential areas where members of the community spent time collecting the corpses that were endangering public health.
Increased post-cyclone health problems, such as infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries, are commonly documented.
The increase in the majority of these health problems usually manifest in the first four weeks following a cyclone.
Powerful and dangerous Cyclone Freddy, classified a Category Five cyclone, with wind velocities of up to 265km/h, is the strongest storm to form so far in 2023, and one of only five Category Five storms ever recorded in the month of February, with the potential to cause torrential rains, widespread flash flooding, dangerous landslides and even deaths as well as the potential to affect as many as two million people living in the storm’s path.
Although reported to have lost strength over dry land, Cyclone Freddy still brought heavy rain to parts of Zimbabwe with storm winds that caused some damage, and killed a person when the tree he was sheltering under was uprooted by strong winds and fell on him.
The storm brought heavy rains and flooding over several days before looping back towards the Mozambique Channel, picking up energy from the warm waters along the way and then moving towards the south-western coast of Madagascar.
Cyclone Freddy retraced its path back to the Mozambican Channel, then made a U-turn just near Madagascar after gaining some strength and re-threatened communities in Madagascar and, for the second time around, made a second landfall in early March 2023 on its return to Southern Africa’s mainland, at Maxixe in Mozambique, about 400km from the south-eastern border of Zimbabwe, as it headed towards Malawi.
Packing powerful winds, the torrential rain washed away structures and killed more than 500 people in Malawi.
Mozambique also had casualties while thousands more were displaced.
The remnants of Cyclone Freddy continued to wreak havoc in parts of south-east Africa.
Originally forming as a disturbance embedded within a monsoon trough on February 5, the system continues to bring torrential rain.
However, no longer classed as a ‘tropical cyclone’, it is proving to be ‘the longest-lasting storm of its kind on record’.
Dr Michelina Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher, industrial design consultant and is a published author in her field.
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