The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNOG , WMO
Bi-Weekly Press Briefing: Tropical Storm Freddy Threats Mozambique - WMO 24 February 2023
Exceptional rainfall expected in Mozambique as tropical storm Freddy roars in, warns WMO
Flooding could impact 1.75 million people in the southeastern African country
Tropical cyclone Freddy, which has been sweeping across the Indian Ocean for several days, killed seven people in Madagascar. It is now projected to make landfall in Mozambique this Friday, 24 February, as a severe tropical storm, warned the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
“Tropical Cyclone Freddy has hit Madagascar with strong winds and high seas and it's now literally threatening Mozambique with - not so much winds here - but its very dangerous and exceptional rainfall levels,” explained Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson at the press briefing in Geneva.
There is a potential risk that months’ worth of rainfall may fall in the space of a few days, according to estimates from the WMO’s Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in the neighboring French island of La Réunion. “Météo France issued a warning of intense rainfall south of Beira, which is close to landfall, exceeding 200 to 300 millimeters and locally 400 millimeters in 72 hours. That is immense,” alerted Ms. Nullis.
Some 400,000 people are living in the areas of Freddy's projected trajectory, but the flooding could affect up to 1.75 million people, according to the Mozambique's National Institute for Disaster Management. Humanitarians are particularly concerned because the rainy season that started in October last year has left the soils in Mozambique saturated. “The river basin levels are already past alert level because there have been very heavy seasonal rainfalls so far,” said Ms. Nullis. “We shouldn't underestimate the threat of this additional rain.”
Tropical storm Freddy will continue to generate massive rain and flooding in the southeastern part of Africa, threatening to further worsen the cholera crisis, the UN World health Organization (WHO) has warned. Mozambique is already struggling to contain an outbreak that has affected more than 5,200 people since September 2022. All six provinces currently affected by cholera are flood-prone areas reported WHO's Cholera team lead, Dr Philippe Barboza. Over the past two weeks, cholera cases increased sharply by 17 per cent in the country.
Ends
STORY: Tropical Storm Freddy Mozambique Threat
TRT: 01’47”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
RELEASE DATE: 24 February 2023
HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Exterior wide shot: UN flag alley UN Geneva.
- Cutaway: Medium lateral shot, podium with speakers at press conference room, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Clare Nullis, Spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “Tropical Cyclone Freddy has hit Madagascar with strong winds and high seas and literally, as I'm speaking, it’s now threatening Mozambique with - it’s not so much the winds here - but its very, very dangerous and exceptional rainfall levels.”
- Cutaway: medium shot
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Clare Nullis, Spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “Météo France issued a warning of intense rainfall south of Beira, which is close to landfall, exceeding 200 to 300 millimeters and locally 400 millimeters in 72 hours. That is immense.”
- Cutaway: close shot of journalist typing
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Clare Nullis, Spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “The soils in Mozambique are already saturated. The river basin levels are already past alert level because there have been very, very heavy seasonal rainfalls so far. So, we shouldn't underestimate the threat of this additional rain.”
- Cutaway: medium shot of camera and press room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Clare Nullis, Spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “The Mozambique's National Disaster Management Authority said that the flooding could affect up to 1.75 million people, and our colleagues at OCHA warns that the confluence of multiple threats is compounding a severe humanitarian situation in Mozambique.”
- Various cutaways shot of journalists and speakers in the press conference room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday voiced concerns about the severe impacts on human rights of the socio-economic crisis in Cuba.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Madagascar: ‘Overwhelming’ destruction, surging needs after back-to-back cyclones – WFP
Some 10 days after tropical cyclone Fytia brought heavy rains and flooding to Madagascar, cyclone Gezani has left the island’s main port in ruins, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief urges de-escalation in Tigray amid rising tensions and violence.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , OHCHR
In Sudan, sick and starving children ‘wasting away’ – UN humanitarians
Relentless violence, famine and disease are picking off Sudan’s children while attacks on healthcare and a lack of aid access hamper efforts to help them, UN humanitarian agencies warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday gave an update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in El Fasher, Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“A series of new Israeli operations and settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risk seriously undermining the viability of a Palestinian state and the realisation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNIS
UN voices concern over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon’s Blue Line
The UN reiterated concerns on Friday at reports that Israeli forces sprayed herbicide over areas north of the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel. The development poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians living there, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefing journalists in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Five patients evacuated as Rafah reopens while ‘too many stayed behind’ – WHO
As time is running out for thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza, hope is alive for medical evacuations to increase with the reopening of the Rafah crossing in the southern part of the Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG , OHCHR
This Sunday marks five years of crisis in Myanmar. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights, and James Rodehaver, chief of the Myanmar team, today spoke on the conduct of recent military-imposed elections, deploring the failure to respect the fundamental human rights of the country’s citizens. The process served only to exacerbate violence and societal polarization.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , HRC
Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, made the following remarks during a briefing to a Special Session on Iran at the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNOPS , UNIS
Amid the launch of President Trump's Board of Peace and reconstruction talks on Gaza, UN aid agencies insisted on Friday that what Gazans need most is immediate relief from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe there.