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Tropical Cyclone Freddy could be declared the longest-lasting storm – a world record – and it’s expected to intensify and come back to affect Mozambique and Malawi, leaving behind death and destruction in Madagascar.
The current record is held by Hurricane John, which lasted 31 days in 1994 and affected Hawaii, Johnston Island, and Alaska in the US.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Cyclone Freddy developed off the North Australian coast on 6 February and more than a month later, it’s still wreaking havoc.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said Cyclone Freddy set the record for having the highest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) of southern hemisphere storms.
Although it has already surpassed the number of days Hurricane John lasted, the WMO said: “WMO is monitoring whether Freddy will set a new record as the longest-lasting tropical cyclone. It is likely that the WMO Weather and Climate Extremes evaluation committee will set up an investigation after the cyclone has dissipated.”
In Madagascar, the latest rains brought by Cyclone Freddy have left at least four people dead, more than 3 100 people displaced and more than 3 300 houses flooded or destroyed in Toliara and Morombe districts, according to preliminary National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management reports.
To date, the cyclone is accountable for the death of 21 people in Madagascar and Mozambique.
The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said:
Four people have died in Madagascar due to the latest rains, bringing Freddy’s death toll to at least 21 people – 10 in Mozambique and 11 in Madagascar.
The cyclone has left Madagascar and is expected in Mozambique on Thursday.
“Freddy is forecasted to re-intensify in the Mozambique Channel into a tropical cyclone (potentially an intense tropical cyclone) and could make another landfall in Mozambique, likely in Zambezia or Nampula provinces, later this week,” OCHA added.
With its first landfall, Cyclone Freddy, according to the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD), affected close to 166 600 people in Mozambique.
Around 800 people were reportedly rescued, and authorities stated that nearly 9 900 displaced people sought refuge at 40 lodgings in Inhambane, Gaza, Sofala, and Maputo. Almost 28 300 homes were damaged and at least 25 health facilities and 919 classrooms were destroyed, leaving 68 280 pupils out of school. More than 18 700 hectares of crops have been lost, and more than 38 100 hectares of crops damaged.
However, the cyclone could impact Malawi, where the already fragile health system is dealing with a deadly cholera outbreak that has stretched over a year.
The UN WMO noted that Cyclone Freddy “will once again bring more heavy rainfall to the south of the country.
“With the rainy season reaching its peak and it being Malawi’s yearly lean season, where many families must make do with limited resources, the situation is expected to exacerbate already life-threatening problems for communities.”
Source News24