Tropical Cyclone Freddy: The Extraordinary Storm that Smashed Multiple Records and Devastated Southeast Africa

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that Cyclone Freddy, which devastated Africa last year, was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone. The storm’s 36-day existence surpassed the 29.75-day existence of Tropical Storm John in 1994. However, it was Tropical Storm John that traveled the farthest, crossing nearly a third of the Earth’s circumference, equivalent to 13,159 km.

Despite its longevity, Freddy’s travel distance was only 12,785 km. Chris Velden, a tropical storm and satellite expert at the University of Wisconsin, described Freddy as a remarkable tropical cyclone due to its long duration and its ability to survive multiple ground interactions, affecting people in southeast Africa. The WMO does not directly link Freddy’s long lifespan to climate change caused by human activity but acknowledges that climate change is associated with an increased risk of severe storms.

Freddy formed off northwestern Australia and became a named storm on February 6. It made landfall in Madagascar on February 21 and Mozambique on February 24, causing fatalities, heavy rains and flooding. The storm circled back along the coast before moving into Mozambique and Malawi where floods and landslides devastated communities. By mid-March Freddy had dissipated after drawing energy from warm water and weakening as it moved inland.

The destruction caused by Freddy resulted in over 1,200 fatalities or missing persons in Malawi and over 2,100 injuries in Mozambique while nearly 200 individuals were affected by two cyclones in Madagascar by two cyclones. The total damage caused by Freddy is estimated at $481 million according to the African Union’s Africa Risk Capacity monitoring extreme weather events is essential for policymakers to understand how the climate is changing and its impacts on communities worldwide