MOZAMBIQUE: Tropical cyclone Freddie would surpass all records and become the longest-lasting storm that would soon hit Mozambique for a second time, after almost two weeks. Mozambique and Madagascar were greatly affected by the storm, which killed approximately 21 people from both countries and left a lot of people berserk.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has mentioned that the storm so far is “incredible and dangerous,” despite it being a “very rare” storm. The storm had its roots in development off the northwest Australian coast on February 6 and flowed through the South Indian Ocean, covering thousands of miles, towards southwest Africa. Islands such as Mauritius and La Reunion were affected by its path.
On February 21, the storm hit the eastern coast of Madagascar before hitting Mozambique a few days later, causing heavy rain, high-speed winds, and even flooding that affected and ruined approximately 2 million lives.
Before continuing its journey to the southwest coast of Madagascar, it gathered momentum from the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel. The cycle would soon strengthen after moving away from the area towards Mozambique. Landfall could be caused for a second time this week, as per WHO reports.
Freddy has already swept across the southern hemisphere while intensifying six times in its course. It has the highest “accumulated cyclone energy” in light of its capacity and strength, according to meteorologists. Rapporteur Randall Cerveny, WMO’s Weather, and Climate Extremes, said in a statement on Tuesday, “At this time, it does appear to be a new record holder for ‘longest-lasting’ recorded tropical cyclone, but we are continuing to monitor the situation.”
WMO is now observing and assessing if Freddy would be the longest-lasting cyclone in the world. The longest-lasting storm record currently is held by Typhoon John, which lasted for 31 days in 1994.
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