Of Coffee With Cyclone Freddy

If you were having coffee with me, I would be glad you made the visit, never mind the rains, they are remnants of a cyclone that’s dissipating hopefully it should be nothing serious… Though the sky does darken ever so menacingly sometimes.

In some areas I hear there has been non-stop rain. I saw a story about a man who got crushed to death by an uprooted tree that he had been taking refuge from the rains under… People gotta stay safe out there.

Cyclone Freddy which caused devastation in Madagascar and Mozambique was expected to reach Zimbabwe over the weekend but after making landfall in Mozambique it did not progress as projected and proceeded to dissipate into an overland depression. The remnants are now a low pressure system that will still influence our weather for the next couple of days.

Cyclone Freddy had received a notorious record of being one of four cyclones to traverse the entirety of the Indian Ocean the last being in 2000. It also achieved the second highest amount of Accumulated Cyclone Energy of a storm, with 70.7 ACE produced over its three-week lifespan. Freddy is the first category 5 storm of 2023.

I had initially planned to have a wash day and retwist my locs over the weekend, but then I figured didn’t want to jinx the weather, especially with a potentially cataclysmic storm brewing in our backyard… For those in the know, strange things happen when I wash my hair.

If you were having coffee with me I would tell you that its no surprise the governments of Madagascar Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique had been on high alert, emphasising citizens to stay safe. (Although I still feel ours doesnt do nearly enough to educate people on a disaster response than simply advising people not to shelter under tress or cross flooded rivers, which people still do. Maybe they just think, “Whats the point, people never listen?”)  Our government had exercised some caution by closing schools on Fridays in anticipation of the storm..

ipi iCyclone yacho👀

— ~B 🇿🇼 (@Beatonm5) February 24, 2023

So when it didn’t show up, people seemed to be disappointed as if it were much ado about nothing. Various jokes about Cyclone Freddy have been trending, such as how cyclones with male names will disappoint you just like men will let you down, they will make plans with you and when you dress up, ready to go, they do not show up, ouch. Some joked about how it probably went off drinking and forgot about its appointment or maybe the potholes kept it away…

It is ironic that people would be disappointed that tragedy had been somewhat averted. I have seen people comment on how they will never trust weather forecast services or heed government calls on staying safe since they clearly do not know what they are talking about. As someone who was actively been tracking the cyclone, I was quite relieved that it dissipated without drama on our side, others were not quite as lucky.

Cyclone Freddy, which has hit Madagascar, is expected to make a landfall today in the regions between central and southern Mozambique, more than 500 kilometres north of the capital Maputo, and could soon reach Zimbabwe's eastern highlands. pic.twitter.com/WcVzVfgoOF

— TheNewsHawks (@NewsHawksLive) February 24, 2023

Maybe its just people’s coping mechanism that after being prepared for the worst, then nothing happens, thus channeling the nervous energy into jokes… or maybe its how we are, we seem to revel in tragic news, suffering and such.. I once remarked on how I don’t actively follow the news because its almost always about crime, violence, death, inflation, corruption, electoral fraud and politricks. Good things never seem to trend. I would have expected more people to be sharing about dodging Freddy than complaining about its apparent no show.

If you were having coffee with me I would tell you that since the last Cyclone that caused devastation in Zimbabwe, I know where to look up cyclones and follow their tracks. Its very basic stuff, using websites like Cyclocane.com, Windy.com Zoom.earth.. then when you do check an actual weather report by people who know what they are talking about it makes make more sense.

The worst might be behind us but weather conditions are unpredictable for example either remnants of Freddy or separate low system or a combination of both might develop into another cyclone during the coming week although that one is projected to move away from mainland Africa… but its early to tell… If there any lessons in this its that we cant predict nature. Meanwhile the sky grows ever so dark serving as a reminder to still be safe, and yeah dont shelter under trees during storms and avoid crossing flooded rivers.

Clouds… pic.twitter.com/dDn3mGc6hn

— ~B 🇿🇼 (@Beatonm5) February 27, 2023

If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that Nigeria had its elections on the 25^th of February, the results are still trickling in, sometimes they seem like they are going one way then the other, as urban voters and rural voters, vote along different planes. Its somewhat a similar situation to what we have here and with 2023 being an electoral year paying attention to how other countries decide gives a bit of barometer to how the winds of change blow.

Whats been going on in your neck of the woods?

~B