Cyclone Tropical Storm Freddy is gaining strength and is expected to hit the Mozambican coast today, Friday, March 10, in the state of an intense cyclone, with winds exceeding 160 kilometers per hour, meteorological services warned.
“Weather conditions will deteriorate in Zambezia province and northern Sofala province, with destructive, even devastating winds, very dangerous sea and heavy rains expected,” the National Institute of Meteorology (INAM) said in a statement.
The information says that the city of Quelimane will be the closest urban area to the cyclone’s point of arrival, and it is expected that the radius of action (about 300 kilometers) will extend from Marromeu to Pebane, then going inland towards Cherimane and southern Malawi.
“The most critical hours will be during the night and early morning hours, followed by days of heavy rain that could reach 200 millimeters as the atmospheric depression moves inland,” meteorologists warned.
This is the second time the storm has hit Mozambique. The first was on February 24 and caused damage for several days and a total of ten deaths.
“The most critical hours will be during the night and early morning, followed by days of heavy rain that could reach 200 millimeters as the atmospheric depression moves inland”
Storm Freddy is described as the longest lasting storm ever, after it formed in early February in the Asian seas, crossing the entire Indian Ocean to the East African coast.
Authorities have appealed to all people in the impact regions, living in self-built homes or in riverside areas, to leave the sites and seek shelter in designated areas.