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Cyclone Freddy

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Cyclone Freda.
This article is about the 2023 tropical cyclone. For other storms of the same name,
see List of tropical cyclones named Freddy.
Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Freddy
Freddy 2023-02-19 0900Z.jpg
Cyclone Freddy at its peak intensity while northeast of Rodrigues on 19 February.
Meteorological history
Duration 5 weeks and 2 days
Formed 5 February 2023
Dissipated 14 March 2023
Very intense tropical cyclone
10-minute sustained (MF)
Highest winds 220 km/h (140 mph)
Lowest pressure 931 hPa (mbar); 27.49 inHg
Category 5-equivalent tropical cyclone
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC)
Highest winds 270 km/h (165 mph)
Lowest pressure 918 hPa (mbar); 27.11 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities >1,218 total, 552 missing
(Second-deadliest tropical cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean, third-deadliest
in the Southern Hemisphere)
Areas affected
Lesser Sunda IslandsMascarene IslandsMadagascarMozambiqueZimbabweMalawiSouth
AfricaEswatiniZambia
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata
Part of the 2022–23 Australian region and South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons
Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Freddy was an exceptionally long-lived, powerful, and
deadly storm that traversed the southern Indian Ocean for more than five weeks in
February and March 2023. Freddy is both the longest-lasting and highest-ACE-
producing tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide. Additionally, it is the third-
deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, only behind 2019's
Cyclone Idai and the 1973 Flores cyclone. It was the fourth named storm of the
2022–23 Australian region cyclone season, and the second very intense tropical
cyclone of the 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season.

Freddy first developed as a disturbance on 5 February 2023. While in the Australian

region cyclone basin, the storm quickly intensified and became a Category 4 severe
tropical cyclone, before it moved into the South-West Indian Ocean basin, where it
intensified further. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated 1-minute
sustained winds of 270 km/h (165 mph) at Freddy's peak strength, equivalent to
Category 5 strength on the Saffir–Simpson scale. On 19 February, Météo-France (MFR)
upgraded it to a very intense tropical cyclone, estimated 10-minute winds of 220
km/h (140 mph). Freddy made its first landfall near Mananjary, Madagascar. The
storm rapidly weakened overland but re-strengthened in the Mozambique Channel.
Shortly afterward, Freddy made second landfall just south of Vilankulos,
Mozambique, before rapidly weakening. Unexpectedly, the system managed to survive
its visit in Mozambique and emerged back over the channel on 1 March. Soon after,
Freddy was re-classified as a tropical cyclone by the MFR. Over the course of 10
days, Freddy rapidly intensified on two occasions, eventually slowing to a semi-
stationary movement near Quelimane, Mozambique. Moving northwest inland, the storm
gradually deteriorated and last noted on 14 March.

Preparations for the storm in the Mascarene Islands included flight groundings,
cyclone alerts, and personnel being prepped for the aftermath, among other things.
In Madagascar, areas previously affected by Cyclones Batsirai and Cheneso were
feared to be worsened by the storm's arrival.[1] On 20–21 February, Freddy skirted
Mauritius and Réunion to the north, bringing strong winds and adverse weather
conditions. A Taiwanese-flagged vessel with a crew of 16 went missing northeast of
Mauritius. The cyclone struck southeastern Madagascar, damaging many homes.[2]
Impacts in Mozambique were more severe than in Madagascar and included heavy
rainfall in the southern half of the country and widely damaged infrastructure.
Some parts of the country received more than 300 mm (12 in) of rain. Effects in
Mozambique were exacerbated after its second landfall with further floods and wind
damage.

Hardest-hit was Malawi where incessant rains caused catastrophic flash floods, with
Blantyre suffering the brunt of it. The nation's power grid was crippled, with its
hydroelectric dam rendered inoperable. Overall, the cyclone killed at least 1,218
people: over 1,000 in Malawi, 198 in Mozambique, 17 in Madagascar, 2 in Zimbabwe,
and 1 in Mauritius, making it the first tropical cyclone globally to claim at least
1,000 lives since Cyclone Idai in 2019. Food security was of particular concern,
with millions of others left at risk. The storm struck during a widespread cholera
outbreak in Mozambique and Malawi as well; severe flooding worsened the epidemic.
Survivors of the cyclone were found desperately digging in rubble with their bare
hands in hopes that they would find other survivors.[3] Numerous deceased people
were found every day as the aftermath lingered around the affected areas.

Meteorological history