--- description: The intensity released by Cyclone Freddy’s accumulated energy is the equivalent of an average full North Atlantic hurricane season. title: Africa's Deadly Cyclone Freddy Unleashes Power Equal to an Entire Hurricane Season image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37be158e1867f1af/698a3b2fb3fce341d80ca475/cyclone-freddy-deadly-flooding-malawi-africa-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Climate](/section/climate/) ## Climate Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [extreme weather](/tag/extreme-weather/) ## extreme weather Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Africa's Deadly Cyclone Freddy Unleashes Power Equal to an Entire Hurricane Season by [Frank Jomo and Matthew Hill / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Frank Jomo and Matthew Hill / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 15, 2023 3:16 PM CUT  People walk across a makeshift bridge over flood water in Blantyre on March 14, 2023, caused by heavy rains following cyclone Freddy's landfall. Cyclone Freddy killed more than 100 people in Malawi and Mozambique on its return to southern Africa's mainland. People walk across a makeshift bridge over flood water in Blantyre on March 14, 2023, caused by heavy rains following cyclone Freddy's landfall. Cyclone Freddy killed more than 100 people in Malawi and Mozambique on its return to southern Africa's mainland.JACK MCBRAMS/AFP— Getty Images by [Frank Jomo and Matthew Hill / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Frank Jomo and Matthew Hill / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 15, 2023 3:16 PM CUT Malawi raised the death toll from floods triggered by Cyclone Freddy, potentially the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded, as the [storm](https://time.com/6218869/why-atlantic-hurricanes-are-getting-stronger/ "undefined") continued to dump rain on the southern African nation. At least 255 people died and 88,312 others have been forced to flee their homes, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs said Wednesday in an emailed statement. Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe told reporters on Tuesday he will have to reconfigure the annual budget he presented to parliament two weeks ago because of the damage wrought by the storm. In neighboring Mozambique, at least 20 people have died, with 221,171 more affected, according to the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction. The storm impacted 3,908 kilometers (2,428 miles) of roads, and 66,417 hectares of farmland. The nation’s meteorological agency warned of continuing heavy rain through Thursday in areas that are already flooded. Cyclone Freddy hit the region for a second time in a month, bringing downpours and havoc to other African nations including Madagascar. Freddy’s accumulated energy — an index used to measure the [energy](https://time.com/6218075/hurricane-ian-climate-change-impact/ "undefined") released by tropical cyclones — is the equivalent of an average full [North Atlantic hurricane season](https://time.com/6218275/strongest-hurricanes-us-map/ "undefined"), according to the [World Meteorological Organization](https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/tropical-cyclone-freddy-may-set-new-record "undefined"). Tropical cyclones — also called hurricanes or typhoons in other regions — are a typical occurrence in the southern hemisphere, usually between November and April. Freddy, which earned its name on Feb. 6 when it was still just a few hundred kilometers off the northwest coast of Australia, has proved more lasting. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6263162/deadly-cyclone-freddy-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6263162/deadly-cyclone-freddy-climate-change/"},"headline":"Africa's Deadly Cyclone Freddy Unleashes Power Equal to an Entire Hurricane Season","datePublished":"2023-03-15T15:16:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:35:04.779Z","description":"The intensity released by Cyclone Freddy’s accumulated energy is the equivalent of an average full North Atlantic hurricane season.","url":"https://time.com/6263162/deadly-cyclone-freddy-climate-change/","keywords":["extreme weather","climate change","wire","healthscienceclimate","bloomberg wire"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37be158e1867f1af/698a3b2fb3fce341d80ca475/cyclone-freddy-deadly-flooding-malawi-africa-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Frank Jomo and Matthew Hill / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37be158e1867f1af/698a3b2fb3fce341d80ca475/cyclone-freddy-deadly-flooding-malawi-africa-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOT-MALAWI-WEATHER-CYCLONE-FREDDY","caption":"TOPSHOT-MALAWI-WEATHER-CYCLONE-FREDDY","creditText":"JACK MCBRAMS/AFP— Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/extreme-weather/","name":"extreme weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6263162/deadly-cyclone-freddy-climate-change/","name":"Africa's Deadly Cyclone Freddy Unleashes Power Equal to an Entire Hurricane Season"}}]}] ```