South Africans likely to feel effects of tropical storm Freddy this weekend, SAWS warns

Freddy

Cape Town – The South African Weather Service (SAWA) has warned of the possibility of heavy rains in some parts of the country, as cyclone Freddy is expected to make landfall in Mozambique on Friday.

Cyclone Freddy barrelled towards Mozambique on Wednesday after battering Madagascar where it killed five people.

France’s weather service Meteo-France said Freddy weakened as it tracked across Madagascar, dropping to an average wind speed of 55 kph.

But, the agency warned, the storm would pick up strength from the warm Mozambique Channel as it headed towards the African mainland.

Cyclone Freddy was expected to land on Friday in regions between central and southern Mozambique, more than 500km north of the capital Maputo, and could reach Zimbabwe.

“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.

“…’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,” said SAWS in a statement.

ALSO READ | South Africa floods kill at least 12, affect Kruger National Park

It added: “It is expected that ‘Freddy’ will affect the north-eastern parts of South Africa from early Saturday until Monday 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,”  SAWS said.

The Limpopo regions of Vhembe, Mopani and the eastern regions of Mpumalanga are likely to be hit by the storm on Saturday.

Last week, the government announced a national state of disaster after floods hit seven of the country’s nine provinces, damaging roads and bridges and leaving at least seven people dead.

The seven provinces were Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape, and parts of the North West.

Disaster management centres reported seven deaths, among them, a newborn baby.

The famed Kruger National Park, a tourist magnet bordering Mozambique and the largest reserve in South Africa, was badly affected.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu 

Additional information by AFP

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