This is according to a media release by SA Weather Service. While on course for southern Mozambique, and then north-eastern RSA Tropical Cyclone “Freddy” made landfall along the eastern coastline of Madagascar, just north of Mananjary, around 19:30 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 of up to 180km/h. 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 is after significant flooding, occurred over the Lowveld and escarpment areas (such as the Kruger National Park) the last few weeks, which may be catastrophic and cause prolonged and severe impacts. “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 on Friday morning.
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It is expected that “Freddy” will affect the north-eastern parts of South Africa from early Saturday, February 25 until Monday, February 27 especially the Lowveld and escarpment areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, as the weather system will be semi-stationary along the northeastern border for a few days. Although not as much rain is expected over other places in the north-eastern parts, residents of Capricorn district, 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 northeastern parts of Limpopo 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. Updated information in this regard will regularly be available at www.weathersa.co.za as well as via the SA Weather Service Twitter account @SAWeatherService.
