Freddy

History

Tropical Cyclone Freddy formed on 4 February 2023 from a tropical low south of the Indonesian archipelago, identified initially by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology as Tropical Low 13U before being named and classified as a Category 1 cyclone. It rapidly intensified as it tracked westward across the southern Indian Ocean, reaching Category 4 on the Australian scale before crossing into the South-West Indian Ocean, where it achieved peak intensity with 10-minute sustained winds of 230 km/h and a central pressure of 927 hPa. The system set the world record for the longest-lasting tropical cyclone at 36 days, also generating the second-highest accumulated cyclone energy ever recorded for a single storm.

Freddy made multiple landfalls, first striking near Mananjary, Madagascar on 21 February, then crossing into Mozambique near Vilankulos on 24 February, and finally making a third landfall near Quelimane, Mozambique on 11 March before dissipating on 14 March. The cyclone caused catastrophic impacts across Madagascar, Mozambique, and particularly Malawi, where flash flooding devastated Blantyre and knocked out hydroelectric power infrastructure. In total, at least 1,434 people were killed, over 2,000 injured, and damage reached approximately US$1.53 billion. Due to the severity of its destruction, the name Freddy was retired by the Bureau of Meteorology and replaced with Frederic in 2025.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia