Mozambique: Government Decrees Red Alert Over Cyclone Freddy
By Jorge Joaquim
The government of Mozambique has declared a nationwide red alert due to rain and the approach of tropical Cyclone Freddy, council of ministers spokesman Filimão Suaze announced yesterday at the end of a session.
The measure should provide greater flexibility and simpler procedures for relief to be provided to to victims of the storm, including the activation of the civil requisition, aiming to involve more means and people in rescue operations, he said.
President Nyusi also decided that each province of the country will be allocated a minister to closely monitor the current situation of the rainy and cyclonic season.
Current projections indicate that ‘Freddy’ is expected to hit Mozambique in the stage of a severe tropical storm late Thursday from Inhambane province, between Inhassoro and Vilankulo districts, bringing heavy rains and winds of 120 km/h and gusts of up to 160 km/h, warns Mozambique’s Metrology Institute INAM.
Tropical cyclone Freddy was, on 21 February 2023, bearing down on Mauritius and Madagascar. Mauritius grounded flights and, news agency Reuters reported, emergency teams in four regions of Madagascar were braced for “heavy rains, floods and landslides”.
