This content was published on March 7, 2023 – 07:51
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Antananarivo, Mar 7 (EFE).- Cyclone Freddy, now a storm, caused at least four deaths on its return to Madagascar, bringing the total number of deaths in recent weeks to eleven in the island country located on the Indian Ocean, reported the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
After moving to Mozambique last week, where ten people lost their lives, Freddy returned to Madagascar this Sunday and hit the southwestern coast of the island, where it caused heavy rains and flooded or destroyed more than 3,300 houses in the districts of Morombe and Toliara, according to a report sent today to EFE.
The cyclone made its first impact on the eastern coast of Malaga on February 21, where some 226,000 were affected, of which some 148,000 need humanitarian aid, the UN estimated.
On February 24, Freddy arrived in Mozambique, making landfall in the province of Inhambane (south), causing heavy rains and rising river flows, affecting some 166,600 people in the south and center of the country.
Likewise, more than 28,300 houses were destroyed or damaged on Mozambican lands and damage was also recorded to infrastructure and public services, with 25 medical centers and 919 classrooms destroyed, affecting 68,280 students.
More than 38,100 hectares of crops were also affected and more than 18,700 were lost, according to the UN office.
Freddy, which is expected to strengthen into a cyclone again, withdrew from Malagasy territory on Monday and could make landfall again this week in central and northern Mozambique, according to weather forecasts.
It is already one of the longest-lasting cyclones and has covered the most kilometers in recent decades, crossing practically the entire Indian Ocean from the coasts of Indonesia to southern Africa. EFE
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