February 21-March 19, 2023
Freddy Delivers Another Blow
Tropical Cyclone Freddy was a record-breaking storm that astonished meteorologists for its longevity. As part of its final act, the cyclone unleashed destructive floods and landslides on Malawi and Mozambique.
Freddy’s long journey began off the coast of Australia in early February 2023. After becoming an exceptionally powerful storm and crossing the Indian Ocean, Freddy first struck eastern Madagascar on February 21 and southern Mozambique a few days later. After drenching Mozambique’s Inhambane province, the storm looped back into the Mozambique Channel in early March, where it benefited from warm ocean temperatures and favorable wind conditions. It underwent rapid intensification for a record seventh time on March 11 as winds strengthened by at least 55 kilometers (35 miles) per hour in a 24-hour period. Freddy continued moving northwest until making landfall in Mozambique’s Zambezi Province later that day.
The storm’s slow pace led to torrential rains in which 20 to 67 centimeters (8 to 26 inches) fell over a span of two days in many areas in Mozambique and Malawi. On March 19, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured an image (right) that shows the scale of the flooding on the Shire, Zambezi, and Licungo rivers. The other image (left) shows the same area on February 21, 2023, before Freddy arrived. Many of the swollen, flooded rivers appear brown due to water carrying large amounts of suspended sediment.
Storm and flooding damage was particularly severe in Malawi, according to news reports and relief agencies. The storm displaced at least 88,000 people in Malawi as houses slid from their foundations or were inundated, with the largest impacts in the Chikwawa, Nsanje, and Mulanje districts. Dozens of people lost their lives in Blantyre alone due to rain-triggered landslides, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Nearly 50,000 more people were displaced in Mozambique. Both countries were already facing cholera outbreaks prior to the flooding, and public health authorities have voiced concerns that the flooding will exacerbate the problem.
References & Resources
- Associated Press (2023, March 16) Cyclone Freddy wanes after battering Malawi, Mozambique. Accessed March 20, 2023.
- Floodlist (2023, March 14) Malawi and Mozambique — Dozens Dead After Storm Freddy Triggers Floods and Mudslides. Accessed March 20, 2023.
- NASA Earthdata (2021) Floods Data Pathfinder. Accessed March 20, 2023.
- NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (2023, March 17) GPM Long-lived Tropical Cyclone Freddy Brings Heavy Rain and Flooding to Madagascar and Mozambique. Accessed March 20, 2023.
- NASA Earth Observatory (2020, July 9) Of Mosquitoes and Models: Tracking Disease by Satellite. Accessed March 20, 2023.
- ReliefWeb (2023, March 20) In wake of Cyclone Freddy, amid disruption to critical services, cholera surges in Mozambique. Accessed March 20, 2023.
- ReliefWeb (2023, March 15) Mozambique: Severe Tropical Storm Freddy - Flash Update No. 10. Accessed March 10, 2023.
- Reuters (2023, March 15) Factbox: Why is Cyclone Freddy a record-breaking storm? Accessed March 10, 2023.
- Reuters (2023, March 20) Cyclone Freddy teaches deadly lessons on storm warnings, city sprawl. Accessed March 20, 2023.
- United Nations (2023, March 7) Tropical cyclone Freddy set to further weaken cholera-hit Malawi. Accessed March 20, 2023.
- The Weather Channel (2023, March 13) Cyclone Freddy Sets New World Record As Longest-Lived Tropical Cyclone. Accessed March 20, 2023.
- World Meteorological Organization (2023, March 10) Tropical Cyclone Freddy may set new record. Accessed March 20, 2023.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview . Story by Adam Voiland .
