- Eight individuals were killed and nearly 1,000 dwellings were destroyed.
- The storm wreaked havoc across southern Africa, killing 21 people.
- The storm has already smashed records for its ferocity and the 8,000-kilometer.
Cyclone Freddy is expected to make landfall again in Mozambique later this week after it struck Madagascar for a second time on Monday.
According to the Madagascar government, eight individuals were killed and nearly 1,000 dwellings were destroyed.
In late February, the storm wreaked havoc across southern Africa, killing 21 people and displacing hundreds in both countries.
It is unusual for a storm to make such a loop, according to meteorologists.
The tropical cyclone is on course to become the longest-lasting storm on record, and it is strengthening.
The storm has already smashed records for its ferocity and the 8,000-kilometer (5,000-mile) path it took over the Indian Ocean.
Its longevity and strength have piqued the interest of weather scientists all over the world.
The cyclone formed off the north Australian coast in early February and traveled hundreds of kilometers across the southern Indian Ocean, impacting Mauritius and La Réunion before making landfall in Madagascar and Mozambique two weeks later.
According to experts, this is an extremely unusual course for such a storm to pursue.
It already holds the southern hemisphere record for the most accumulated cyclone energy. It is a measure of the strength of a storm over time.
Mozambique is now prepared for a second landfall, while still recovering from the cyclone’s rains and floods.
In just the last week, Madagascar got over three times its monthly normal rainfall.
The Weather and Climate Extremes evaluation committee of the UN says it will probably set up an investigation into this “remarkable” and “rare occurrence” after the cyclone has dissipated.
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