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March 20, 2023 - Flooding in Mozambique
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In February and March 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy made two separate landfalls over Mozambique, bringing strong winds and intense rainfall to both that country and to Malawi, which sits inland west of Mozambique. Freddy’s destructive winds and extreme rains have left behind flooding, extensive damage, and a complex and widespread disaster.
The cyclone’s first landfall was on February 24, when Freddy came ashore roughly 120 miles (193 m) south of Beira, a large and port city sitting where the Pungwe River pours into the Mozambique Channel. After looping back out over the Channel, Freddy made a second landfall on March 11, this time about the same distance north of Beira.
The first landfall resulted in significant infrastructure damage in Mozambique, as more than 22,000 houses were affected, almost 14,000 were destroyed, 60 health units were flooded, and 1,265 km of roads were damaged. About 92,000 hectares of crops were affected, including in areas where 400,000 people are already food insecure.
At the second landfall, wind speeds measuring at 93 mph (150 km/h) with gusts up to 132 mph (213 km/h), brought destruction to hospitals, schools, the water supply system, and power systems. Rainfall topped more than 600 mm (23.6 inches) in some places in Mozambique which is four times greater than average monthly precipitation during the rainy season. As late as March 15, rainfall greater than 100 mm (3.9 inches) per 24 hours continued to fall.
Extreme rainfall, along with infrastructure damage, has created widespread flooding and a complex humanitarian disaster in both Mozambique and Malawi. The poor conditions have worsened a cholera outbreak. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA), as of March 15, 8,877 cumulative cases of cholera have been reported in Mozambique with 54 deaths. This is an increase of 901 cases in a week.
The second landfall damaged or destroyed about 48,134 buildings, while 191,562 hectares of cropland were damaged and an additional 38,000 hectares have been lost. The damage to cropland comes at a time when many crops were nearly ready to harvest, and will most likely lead to significant food shortages. Flood waters continue to rise in some localities, especially in low-lying areas near major rivers. By some estimates, it may take months for the flooding to subside.
In Malawi, at least 438 deaths were reported as of March 17, with 918 people injured and 282 missing. Nearly 345,200 people are displaced and sheltering in over 500 camps across flood affected areas, where the risk of cholera is high. The extent of flooding appeared to increase between 14 and 17 March 2023, according to satellite imagery, even though Freddy had become a remnant low over Malawi by March 14.
On March 17, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a false-color image of flooding near Mozambique’s Pungwe River after Tropical Cyclone Freddy’s pair of landfalls. The city of Beira can be seen as a tan smudge on the northern shore of the Pungwe where it flows into the Mozambique Channel. This type of false-color image uses infrared and visible light (MODIS bands 7,2,1) to help visualize water (deep blue) from vegetated land (bright green). Open land looks tan and cloud appears white or may be tinted with electric blue.
Immediately below the March 17 image is a second Terra MODIS false-color image of the same area acquired on February 21, before landfall of Tropical Cyclone Freddy. The difference between this non-flooded view and the post-Freddy inundation is remarkable, especially considering that this area was about halfway between the two landfalls and not directly struck by the tropical cyclone.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 3/17/2023
Resolutions:
1km (146.4 KB), 500m (333 KB), 250m (212.1 KB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
In February and March 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy made two separate landfalls over Mozambique, bringing strong winds and intense rainfall to both that country and to Malawi, which sits inland west of Mozambique. Freddy’s destructive winds and extreme rains have left behind flooding, extensive damage, and a complex and widespread disaster.
The cyclone’s first landfall was on February 24, when Freddy came ashore roughly 120 miles (193 m) south of Beira, a large and port city sitting where the Pungwe River pours into the Mozambique Channel. After looping back out over the Channel, Freddy made a second landfall on March 11, this time about the same distance north of Beira.
The first landfall resulted in significant infrastructure damage in Mozambique, as more than 22,000 houses were affected, almost 14,000 were destroyed, 60 health units were flooded, and 1,265 km of roads were damaged. About 92,000 hectares of crops were affected, including in areas where 400,000 people are already food insecure.
At the second landfall, wind speeds measuring at 93 mph (150 km/h) with gusts up to 132 mph (213 km/h), brought destruction to hospitals, schools, the water supply system, and power systems. Rainfall topped more than 600 mm (23.6 inches) in some places in Mozambique which is four times greater than average monthly precipitation during the rainy season. As late as March 15, rainfall greater than 100 mm (3.9 inches) per 24 hours continued to fall.
Extreme rainfall, along with infrastructure damage, has created widespread flooding and a complex humanitarian disaster in both Mozambique and Malawi. The poor conditions have worsened a cholera outbreak. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA), as of March 15, 8,877 cumulative cases of cholera have been reported in Mozambique with 54 deaths. This is an increase of 901 cases in a week.
The second landfall damaged or destroyed about 48,134 buildings, while 191,562 hectares of cropland were damaged and an additional 38,000 hectares have been lost. The damage to cropland comes at a time when many crops were nearly ready to harvest, and will most likely lead to significant food shortages. Flood waters continue to rise in some localities, especially in low-lying areas near major rivers. By some estimates, it may take months for the flooding to subside.
In Malawi, at least 438 deaths were reported as of March 17, with 918 people injured and 282 missing. Nearly 345,200 people are displaced and sheltering in over 500 camps across flood affected areas, where the risk of cholera is high. The extent of flooding appeared to increase between 14 and 17 March 2023, according to satellite imagery, even though Freddy had become a remnant low over Malawi by March 14.
On March 17, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a false-color image of flooding near Mozambique’s Pungwe River after Tropical Cyclone Freddy’s pair of landfalls. The city of Beira can be seen as a tan smudge on the northern shore of the Pungwe where it flows into the Mozambique Channel. This type of false-color image uses infrared and visible light (MODIS bands 7,2,1) to help visualize water (deep blue) from vegetated land (bright green). Open land looks tan and cloud appears white or may be tinted with electric blue.
Immediately below the March 17 image is a second Terra MODIS false-color image of the same area acquired on February 21, before landfall of Tropical Cyclone Freddy. The difference between this non-flooded view and the post-Freddy inundation is remarkable, especially considering that this area was about halfway between the two landfalls and not directly struck by the tropical cyclone.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 3/17/2023
Resolutions:
1km (146.4 KB), 500m (333 KB), 250m (212.1 KB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
