Tropical Cyclone Freddy passed through Mozambique, leaving at least 7 people dead and thousands homeless.
In Madagascar, where the storm made extensive wind damage and flooding before it reached Mozambique, authorities reported 7 fatalities, more than 22,000 displaced people, roughly 80,000 affected people, and 12,000 homes damaged.
Tropical Cyclone Freddy made landfall in Vilankulo District in the Inhambane Province on 24 February with winds of 95 km/h. Freddy then weakened to a tropical storm with recorded winds of 55km/h.
The United Nations said Freddy tracked across seven districts in Inhambane (Funhalouro, Govuro, Inhassoro, Mabote, Massinga, Morrumbene, Vilankulo) and one in Gaza (Chigubo), an area where approximately 873,000 people live.
Parts of southern and central Mozambique experienced heavy rainfall and flooding earlier in February, and rivers were already high and soil saturated.
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The rainfall brought by Cyclone Freddy has worsened the situation. In 24 hours to 26 February, Vilanculos in Inhambane province recorded 143 mm of rain and Panda District also in Inhambane saw 152.1 mm. In the following 24-hour period, Massangena District in Gaza Province recorded around 200 mm of rain.
On 25 February, the Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources (MOPHRH) reported the Save, Maputo, Incomati, Limpopo, Pungoé, Zambeze and Rovuma rivers were above alert levels.
The risk of severe flooding in the Limpopo river basin, in particular, has been highlighted by the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS), which anticipates that floods could be worse than during Cyclone Eloise in 2021.
Story adapted from Flood List
