MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) – A cyclone that is intensifying as it approaches the southeast African coast was classified as “dangerous” by the United Nations weather agency on Monday as nations prepare to make landfall.
Cyclone Freddy is expected to reach Madagascar on Tuesday evening and head towards Mozambique by the end of the week. The tropical cyclone is a Category 4 hurricane and is expected to bring heavy rain and turbulent winds.
A “significant deterioration in weather conditions” is underway, the multiple hazard early warning system of Meteo France predicted on Monday. The weather agency said Monday’s cyclone will pass about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the islands of Mauritius and then Réunion, where strong winds and dangerous seas are expected.
The regional weather observation center on Reunion Island said Freddy is currently rushing across the ocean with average wind speeds of 205 kilometers per hour.
Storm surges and flooding are feared to affect up to 2.2 million people, mostly in Madagascar, according to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System. The communities of Mahanoro, Mananjary and Nosy Varita in western Madagascar will be hit first on Tuesday.
Mozambique is likely to be hit on Friday, according to the country’s national meteorology institute. The country has already experienced widespread flooding in recent weeks, raising fears at the UN agency that the “serious humanitarian situation in the region” could escalate.
About five other coastal nations — Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and South Africa — are also at risk as Freddy is expected to speed across the Mozambique Channel after Wednesday, according to the region’s climate service center.
Last year, scientists were able to show that climate change was making cyclones worse in Southeast Africa, which is already a hotspot for tropical storms and cyclones.
Over the past 12 months, the region has been hit hard by a series of cyclones, suffering great loss of life, property, the displacement of large populations and costly damage to major infrastructure.
“We hope that accurate warnings and forecasts will help limit damage from Tropical Cyclone Freddy,” said UN weather agency spokeswoman Clare Nullis.
Cyclone Freddy was first detected and named by a monitoring center in Melbourne, Australia, on February 6 and has since traversed the entire southern Indian Ocean.
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The Associated Press’s climate and environmental reporting is supported by several private foundations. Learn more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Wanjohi Kabukuru, The Associated Press
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