The alert is at its maximum for African countries bordering the Indian Ocean. Tropical cyclone Freddy was heading towards Mozambique on Wednesday evening, after losing power but causing five deaths in Madagascar.
More than 16,600 Malagasy in total have been affected, with some 4,500 houses flooded or damaged, said the National Office for Risk Management (BNGRC). Thousands of people had been placed in emergency accommodation as a preventive measure. The full extent of the damage is being assessed.
Freddy expected Friday in Mozambique
Météo-France said Freddy weakened while crossing Madagascar and the average wind speed fell to 55 km/h. But the agency warned that the cyclone would continue to progress towards the African continent and that it could regain strength in the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel.
It is expected to make landfall on Friday in areas between central and southern Mozambique, more than 500 km north of the capital Maputo, and could potentially reach Zimbabwe. The government of Mozambique declared the red alert and put the emergency services on alert.
Considered a “supercyclone” by forecasters, with extreme winds averaging 220 km/h and gusts of up to 320 km/h, it did not, however, have a devastating effect either on Reunion or in Mauritius where it did not make landfall. The cyclone, born in early February at the tip of Bali and which crossed the entire Indian Ocean arrived Tuesday evening weakened in Madagascar with winds down to 130 km / h on average.