Madagascar is battered by Cheneso and prepares for Cyclone Freddy

MOMBASA – Two weeks later Tropical cyclone Cheneso devastated Madagascarwhich killed 30 people, the Indian Ocean island nation and its neighbors are preparing for a stronger Cyclone Freddy.

Meteo France has described Freddy as an “intense tropical cyclone” and a “particularly strong and compact tropical system producing extreme winds near its center”. The much smaller islands of Mauritius and Réunion are on high alert as Freddy – spinning west about 2,000 kilometers (about 1,242 miles) east of Mauritius on Friday – was expected to cause flooding there on Sunday and Monday.

In its latest briefing on Friday afternoon, the United Nations Regional Weather Observatory Center in Réunion said Freddy, which formed near Indonesia two weeks ago, is expected to make landfall early next week with the strength of a powerful Category 5 hurricane .

Another cyclone, Dingani, weakened.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Madagascar said it was mobilizing its teams for the cyclone.

Madagascar’s Directorate General of Meteorology has issued alerts for the Analanjirofo and Sava regions, warning residents to take preventive measures as they expect a more powerful Freddy to make landfall on the country’s east coast between Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

The coastal nations of mainland Africa, Mozambique and South Africa, as well as Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, were on high alert for heavy rains and thunderstorms from Freddy over the coming week.

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