Cyclone Freddy Strikes Again, Killing 4 More People

Posted: March 7, 2023 4:57 pm

Almost two weeks after Tropical Cyclone Freddy hit Madagascar for the first time, it came back through the island nation on Monday, killing four more people. The resurgent storm brought torrential rain and damaging winds to Madagascar, leaving behind a trail of destruction to the island that is still recovering from the first strike.

Freddy Makes Second Landfall on Madagascar

Tropical Cyclone Freddy is now distinguished as the longest tracked tropical storm in history. The storm first hit Madagascar on February 21 after it took an atypical journey through the Indian Ocean. With Monday’s fatalities, the storm is now responsible for 11 deaths in Madagascar. A home collapsed on Monday killing a one-year-old. The other three fatalities included two women and a two-year-old child.

Freddy has been meandering through the Indian Ocean for about a month, making its way across the water from Indonesia on February 6. After Monday’s strike, the storm has been able to hold on to its strong rotation. Freddy is expected to make its third landfall when it hits Mozambique.

Tropical events that hang on as long as Freddy are rare. Tropical Cyclone Leon hung on for 29 days in 2000, following a similar track over about 7,000 miles.

Freddy’s Long Journey Through the Indian Ocean

Freddy became a tropical cyclone on February 7. It was upgraded to what is known as an intense tropical cyclone later that same day when it hit maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. This puts it at the same equivalent as a Category 2 hurricane.

The storm peaked with winds of 155 mph on February 15, putting it in the category of a very intense tropical cyclone. While it weakened slightly in the coming days, it once again reached this designation on February 19. A very intense tropical cyclone is the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane.

The islands of Mauritius and Reunion were in the crosshairs of Freddy on February 20. Maximum wind speeds on Signal Mountain on Mauritius hit 95 mph as the storm approached the island. The island of Reunion experienced power outages to about 25,000 customers as the storm skirted past land.

Freddy then made its first official landfall the next day when the eye came onshore near Mananjary in Madagascar. Freddy weakened by February 21 with winds down to 80 mph. Despite the weakening, the storm was still packing enough of a punch to damage over 6,700 homes. The city of Mananjary recorded rainfall of about 5 inches with winds hitting over 90 mph. Officials estimate that about 16,000 residents have been displaced in this city alone.

Freddy finally moved offshore Madagascar before moving toward Mozambique, making a second landfall on February 24 to the south of Vilankulos. At least seven deaths were blamed on Freddy in Mozambique.

The National Institute for Disaster Risk Management estimates that about 15,000 homes were damaged or destroyed as a result of the 10 to 12 inches of rain that fell over a time period of three days. Almost 20,000 homes sustained flooding damage.

The storm quickly lost its strength as it moved into the southeastern corner of Africa, becoming what is known as an overland depression. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center was able to discontinue all warnings about the storm on February 24 because of the swift weakening.

Cyclone Freddy Strengthens in Mozambique Channel

However, Freddy was not done yet. Its remnants picked up some strength and energy as it skirted over the Mozambique Channel. This energy gave it the fuel to strengthen back into a tropical cyclone, becoming a moderate tropical storm on March 4 with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. Once again, it was the island of Madagascar that saw the impacts of the heavy rain and damaging winds.

The weather maker became a severe tropical storm late in the day on March 6 as it continues west toward Mozambique where it is predicted to make a third landfall. Forecasters are warning that Freddy will usher in more rain and damaging winds to the western and southern portions of Madagascar through Tuesday before it hits the northern edge of Mozambique later in the week.

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