Cyclone Freddy makes second landfall in Mozambique

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Record-breaking Cyclone Freddy slammed into Mozambique on Saturday evening, battering the South African country with torrential rains and disrupting transportation and telecommunications services.

The French meteorological agency Météo-France has warned of “destructive and devastating” winds and “dangerous seas and torrential rains” which could trigger avalanches. He added that Freddy will move inland over the weekend bringing heavy rain to Mozambique and southern Malawi, with possible rain in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

This is Freddy’s second time hitting the country. The cyclone first made landfall late last month.

Météo-France also noted that Freddy is unlikely to weaken over land next week and there is a good chance that he will return to sea. Freddy made landfall with offshore winds sustained maximum of 155 kilometers (about 100 miles) per hour and average gusts of 220 kilometers (about 140 miles) per hour, according to the agency.

Initially, Freddy’s track indicated that he would make landfall on Friday evening, but he stopped above the Mozambique Channel. The cyclone intensified on Saturday and gained strength as it tracked inland, the National Institute of Meteorology of Mozambique reported.

The cyclone’s second impact washes away a vast plain bordered by rivers and “almost none of them have dams” to mitigate flooding, said Salomao Bandeira, a scientist at Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. Floods in the country earlier this year hit areas where major rivers are controlled by dams, allowing some level of control, Bandeira said, raising fears the blow could cause further destruction. ___ Associated Press writer Seth Borenstein contributed to this report from Washington, DC ___ The Associated Press’s climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all of its content.