MSGID: 1:317/3 63f6584b   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   February 22, 2023 - Tropical Cyclone Freddy Slams Madagascar   
      
      Freddy   
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      After traveling for 15 days across the Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone   
      Freddy made landfall on the east coast of Madagascar on the evening of   
      February 21, 2023.   
      
      The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board   
      NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of Freddy roaring   
      toward Madagascar hours before landfall on February 21. Near the time   
      the image was acquired, maximum sustained winds were estimated at 120   
      mph (193 km/h) or the equivalent of a Category 3 storm on the   
      Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.   
      
      Fortunately, Tropical Cyclone Freddy was rapidly losing power. As   
      Freddy made landfall north of Mananjary around 7:20 p.m. local time, it   
      had weakened to Category 1 strength, with winds estimated at about 80   
      mph (130 km/h), although precise windspeeds at landfall were yet to be   
      confirmed. The coastal town of Mananjary, home to 25,000 people, was   
      previously hit hard in February 2022 by the deadly Cyclone Batsirai.   
      
      Forecasts called for Freddy to bring damaging winds, storm surge, and   
      heavy rains as the storm moves inland. Rainfall may be especially   
      damaging in places still recovering from Cyclone Cheneso, which killed   
      dozens of people and left thousands homeless in the island nation in   
      January 2023. Since forming near Indonesia on February 6, Freddy has   
      traveled about 7,200 kilometers across the Indian Ocean, according to   
      the UK Met Office. The 15-day lifespan of the cyclone is unusual; few   
      cyclones travel so far and are sustained for so long. The longest-lived   
      tropical cyclone in the southern hemisphere was Leon-Eline in 2000,   
      which was sustained for 18.5 days and traveled a similar path to   
      Freddy.   
      
      Freddy was forecasted to continue moving westward and cross into the   
      Mozambique Channel before strengthening and landing on Mozambique later   
      in the week. Freddy was the second cyclone to hit Madagascar during the   
      2022–2023 season, which runs from around late October to May in the   
      southwest Indian Ocean.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 2/21/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (1.1 MB),  500m (3 MB),  250m (2.1 MB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-02-22   
       
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