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Tropical Cyclone Freddy is heading towards South Africa; the South African Weather Service has advised it may intensify, causing flooding and severe damage to parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

 

South Africa (22 February 2023) – Mpumalanga and Limpopo residents are being warned to prepare for Tropical Cyclone Freddy, which is due to make landfall later this week. The South African Weather Service has issued a statement detailing what South Africans can expect.

The Cyclone which started near Mauritius will make landfall in Mozambique where it is expected to intensify before heading inland towards Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

“Tropical Cyclone “Freddy” made landfall along the eastern coastline of Madagascar, just north of Mananjary, around 19:30 SAST on Tuesday early evening. The relatively compact storm was a low-end category 2 tropical cyclone just before making landfall, with winds of 150 km/h and gusts up to 180km/h. “Freddy” weakened significantly due to the rugged terrain it encountered and was downgraded to an overland depression during the evening. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) designated Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) located at La Reunion, forecasts that “Freddy” will continue in a west-south-westerly direction over the next few days, regaining its strength this evening as it moves into the Mozambique Channel. “Freddy” may yet again reach near- tropical cyclone status by Thursday evening while heading to southern Mozambique, making landfall just north of Vilanculos during Friday morning.

It is expected that “Freddy” will affect the north-eastern parts of South Africa from early Saturday until Monday (25 to 27 February 2023) especially the Lowveld and escarpment areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, as the weather system will be semi-stationary along the north-eastern border for a few days.

Very heavy rainfall in the order of 200 to 400 mm is possible, and this may result in widespread significant flooding. The districts in question are Vhembe and Mopani in Limpopo, and to a slightly lesser extent, Ehlanzeni in Mpumalanga. This, after significant flooding occurred over the Lowveld and escarpment areas (such as the Kruger National Park) the last few weeks, may be catastrophic and cause prolonged and severe impacts.”

Thankfully, the rest of the country won’t be badly affected by the weather system but SAWS does urge people in flood-prone areas to remain vigilant.

“Although not as much rain is expected over other places in the north-eastern parts, residents of Capricorn (Limpopo), as well as Umkhanyakude, Zululand and Amajuba (KwaZulu-Natal) are urged to be extra vigilant as the situation may be exacerbated by the recent flooding events in these places.

In addition to heavy rains, strong winds caused by “Freddy” are also expected in the north-eastern parts from Friday evening, with average speeds of about 45 km/h.

The public can rest assured that SAWS, in consultation with National and Provincial Disaster Management structures, will continue to monitor developments on a 24/7 basis and will issue regular updates in this regard, across a variety of media and social media platforms. Furthermore, the public is urged and encouraged to regularly follow weather forecasts on television and radio.”

Should you find yourself in one of the areas that will be hardest hit by the cyclone, there are a few precautionary steps you can take today, in order to prepare.

To be cautious, make sure you have some extra drinking water stored and non-perishable foods as well as gas to cook them on, and candles or other safer light sources. If your home has flooding zones or you live near a river, be sure to keep a fully kitted “Go Bag” – You can find our guide and packing list here.


Sources: SAWS
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About the Author

Tyler Leigh Vivier is a writer for Good Things Guy.

Her passion is to spread good news across South Africa with a big focus on environmental issues, animal welfare and social upliftment. Outside of Good Things Guy, she is an avid reader and lover of tea.

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