BY SABELO GWEBU
MBABANE – With the impending threat of Tropical Cyclone Freddy expected to hit the country on Saturday, The Government of Eswatini has already committed E8 million to cater for the current damage and potential challenges expected from the cyclone.
This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku at his offices on Thursday as the country heads for the unknown.
Eswatini has experienced Torrential rainfall from February 7 and lasting to date, causing extensive damage to infrastructure.
Masuku revealed that the latest reports emanating from the African Union Multi-Hazard Warning System (AMHEWAS), SADC Disaster Risk Reduction Centre and the Eswatini Meteorology Department indicate an impending threat of Cyclone Freddy expected to affect parts of the country this weekend.
“Cyclone Freddy which made landfall over Madagascar on February 21 is likely to make landfall in Mozambique on Friday and track westwards towards the country. The northern Hhohho and Lubombo regions are expected to experience Torrential rainfall that will cause severe flooding,” Masuku warned.
In the company of National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Russell Dlamini, Masuku said the NDMA will continue to monitor the generation of the cyclone and that situational updates and advisories will be consistently issued on all media platforms daily.
“Further, I would also like to take this opportunity to advise emaSwati to exercise extreme caution during this period and follow all warnings issued by the country’s authorities,” he said.
Tropical Cyclone Freddy is the earth’s first category five tropical cyclone of the year. Born off the coast of northwest Australia, Tropical Cyclone Freddy, as predicted, has made it all the way to Africa and will be setting records for Southern Hemisphere cyclone power and duration and threatening Madagascar as a still-potent storm. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, the above-mentioned peaked with 165 mph winds on February 16. According to NOAA’s historical hurricane tracks website, this makes Tropical Cyclone Freddy one of only five category-five storms ever recorded in February on Earth. The only February storm stronger than Freddy (by wind speed) was Tropical Cyclone Winston of 2016, which peaked with 180 mph winds near Fiji on February 20, 2016.
