Cyclone Freddy: Winds and rain lash Mozambique as storm arrives

Rain, strong winds and flooding have hit Mozambique as Cyclone Freddy made landfall twice in one month.

The southern African country has had more than a year’s worth of precipitation in the last four weeks.

Freddie could be the longest-lasting storm on record to form over northwest Australia 34 days ago.

One person has been reported dead, bringing the death toll to at least 28 since the storm first made landfall.

The cyclone made a second landfall near the eastern port of Quelimane around 22:00 (20:00 GMT) on Saturday.

People are being asked to move to temporary shelters such as schools, churches and warehouses.

More than 500,000 people could be at risk of a humanitarian crisis this time, according to local disaster agencies.

One person was killed as a house collapsed as strong winds hit the country, Reuters quoted state channel TVM as saying.

As a precautionary measure, power companies cut electricity and canceled all flights, TVM said.

The cyclone was reported to have stalled offshore and is believed to be making landfall soon.

“We’re seeing some houses with torn roofs, broken windows and flooded streets. It’s really scary,” Vania Massinge, a charity worker from the port city of Quelimane in Zambezia province, told Reuters. .

Climate change is making tropical storms around the world wetter, windier and more intense, experts say.

Freddy had already broken the strength record accumulated on the 8,000 km (5,000 mi) route across the Indian Ocean to northwest Australia.

Mozambique’s National Disaster Management Agency estimates that more than 1.5 million people have been affected and more than 8,000 have been forced from their homes since the first storm last month.

Humanitarian operations are ongoing in the area, but there are concerns that renewed heavy rains following Freddy’s return will hamper aid efforts.

Neighboring Malawi, where health officials are battling a cholera outbreak, will also be affected.

Meteorological experts predict the cyclone will bring destructive winds and extreme rainfall to large areas, including northeastern Zimbabwe and southeastern Zambia.