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A6 WORLD NEWS
Monday 13 March 2023
Tropical Cyclone Freddy hammers Mozambique for second time

By WANJOHI KABUKURU istration said Freddy has
Associated Press already catapulted into
MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — the record books for the
Record-breaking Cyclone second-ever highest accu-
Freddy made its second mulated cyclone energy,
landfall in Mozambique or ACE, a measurement of
Saturday night, pounding a cyclone’s energy over
the southern African nation time. Freddy is also the third
with heavy rains and dis- storm on record to last more
rupting transport and tele- than 22 days, said NOAA’s
communications services. Carl Schreck. Hurricane
French weather agency John in 1994 and an un-
Météo-France warned of named Atlantic hurricane
“destructive and devastat- in 1899 are the other two.
ing” winds and “dangerous The natural weather event
seas and heavy rains” that La Nina and a negative
could lead to landslides. It Indian Ocean Dipole, or a
said Freddy will go further in- change of temperatures
land through the weekend, over the ocean, “may have
generating heavy rains in produced ocean tempera-
Mozambique and southern tures and atmospheric cir-
Malawi, with rain also likely culations that made an
in Zimbabwe and Zambia. event like this more likely,”
Its the second time Freddy Trees are strewn across a street in Quelimane, Mozambique, Saturday, March 11, 2023. Schreck added.
has hit the country, with Associated Press Any storm that can remain
the cyclone originally mak- cyclone then intensified ing fears this hit could lead deira said. at such a “strong inten-
ing landfall late last month. on Saturday and regained to more destruction. In a statement released sity for so long and make
Météo-France also raised strength as it barrelled to- The projected deluge is al- Saturday, Malawi Red two landfalls is important
concerns that Freddy is un- ward land, Mozambique’s ready worrying health and Cross said it had activated in terms of human impacts
likely to weaken over land National Institute of Meteo- disaster agencies in both its early response teams and in terms of science,”
in the coming week and rology said. Mozambique and Malawi, in southern Malawi to pre- said Kristen Corbosiero, pro-
has a high probability of The cyclone’s second who have recently been pare for the cyclone. fessor of atmospheric and
exiting back into the sea. punch is showering a low- battling cholera cases and Earlier in the week, Freddy’s environmental sciences at
Freddy made landfall with lying, vast land teeming other water-borne ailments. longevity and baffling tra- the University of Albany.
maximum wind speeds at with rivers and “almost all The U.N. and EU-led disaster jectories caused the U.N. “Intense storms generally
sea measuring 155 kilome- of them have no dam” to alert system has already is- weather agency to set go through a series of eye-
ters (around 100 miles) an ease flooding, said Salo- sued a red alert projecting up a committee to deter- wall replacement cycles
hour and sea gusts averag- mao Bandeira, a scientist that some 2.3 million peo- mine whether it has broken and intensity fluctuations,”
ing 220 kilometers (around at Mozambique’s Univer- ple will be impacted. Mo- the record as the longest- where the cyclone begins
140 miles) an hour, the sidade Eduardo Mondlane. zambique’s disaster insti- lasting tropical cyclone in to develop a a new eye,
agency said. Flooding in the country tute has moved thousands recorded history after tra- Corbosiero said. “But Fred-
Freddy was initially on earlier this year slammed of people to storm shelters versing more than 8,000 ki- dy didn’t have these cycles
course to make landfall in regions where major rivers in anticipation. lometres (5,000 miles) in the for most of its life cycle. Try-
the country Friday night are controlled by dams, “More lives are being saved southern Indian Ocean. ing to understand why,
but stalled over the Mo- allowing some degree of in Mozambique today” due The U.S. National Oceanic will be a good research
zambique channel. The control, Bandeira said, rais- to early preparedness, Ban- and Atmospheric Admin- topic.”q

Iraqi PM promises action to tackle

crippling climate change

Climate change for years they lost their livelihoods ing the country’s biodiver-
has compounded the that rely on agriculture and sity.
woes of the troubled hunting,” Prime Minister Among the projects is a
country. Droughts and in- Mohammed Shia al-Sudani massive afforestation ini-
creased water salinity have said in a speech to open tiative, where Iraq would
destroyed crops, animals the two-day Iraq Climate plant 5 million trees across
and farms and dried up Conference in Basra. the country. Iraq also hopes
entire bodies of water. Hos- Al-Sudani said the Iraqi to provide one-third of the
pitals have faced waves government is working on country’s electricity de-
of patients with respiratory a national plan to tackle mand through renewable
illnesses caused by ram- climate change that con- energy instead of fossil fuel.
Muqtada Haider turns the switches to transfer electricity to pant sandstorms. Climate sists of a series of measures Al-Sudani said he is hop-
private homes in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept. 10, 2021. change has also played a it hopes to take by 2030. ing to organize a regional
Associated Press role in Iraq’s ongoing strug- The plan includes building conference on climate
gle to combat cholera. renewable energy plants, change in Baghdad in the
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s fected millions across the “More than seven million modernizing inefficient and near future as well.
prime minister Sunday country — including plans citizens have been af- outdated irrigation tech- Developments in neigh-
promised sweeping mea- to meet a third of the coun- fected in Iraq ... and hun- niques, reducing carbon boring countries have also
sures to tackle climate try’s electricity demands dreds of thousands have emissions, combating de- compounded Iraq’s water
change — which has af- using renewable energy. been displaced because sertification, and protect- woes.q