As it traveled westward across the Indian Ocean, the storm quickly intensified, becoming a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone on the Australian scale.

After reaching its peak intensity, the cyclone moved toward the northern Mascarene Islands and made landfall near Mananjary, Madagascar on 21 February.

Preparations for the storm in the Mascarene Islands included flight groundings, cyclone alerts, and personnel being prepped for the aftermath, among other things.

Impacts in Mozambique were more severe than in Madagascar and included heavy rainfall in the southern half of the country and widely damaged infrastructure.

Cyclone Freddy can be traced back to 4 February 2023, when the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) reported that Tropical Low 13U had formed during an active phase of the Madden–Julian oscillation in conjunction with an equatorial Rossby wave, while it was situated to the south of the Indonesian archipelago.

The system became increasingly susceptible to wind shear and dry air intrusion, causing Freddy to weaken back into a minimal tropical storm on 9 February.

On 14 February, the system tracked over the 90th meridian east and into the South-West Indian Ocean cyclone region, and hence responsibility for the storm transitioned to Météo-France (MFR) at La Réunion.

[1][2] On 19 February, the MFR upgraded Freddy to a very intense tropical cyclone based on a Dvorak technique rating of T7.0, with 10-minute sustained winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) and an estimated barometric pressure of 931 hPa (27.49 inHg).

The system reached Category 5-equivalent intensity, with the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reporting 1-minute sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph).

Freddy made landfall as a strong Category 2-equivalent intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph) near Mananjary, Madagascar on 21 February.

[12] The Mauritius Meteorological Services (MMS) issued a class III cyclone warning, estimating that Freddy's center gusts might reach up to 300 km/h (185 mph).

[28] Medair noted that the region was suffering from a surge in childhood malnutrition stemming from an inadequate humanitarian response to the aforementioned cyclones.

[29] On 18 February, General Directorate of Meteorology issued warnings for the Analanjirofo and Sava regions, advising residents to take precautions as the cyclone was expected to make landfall.

[33] The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System estimated over 2.2 million people would be affected by Freddy's storm surge and flooding in the country.

The agency was unable to sufficiently allocate emergency supplies due to a lack of funding and shortages from Cyclone Cheneso the month prior.

[40] During March 2023, as Freddy approached a second time, the Mozambique National Meteorology Institute (INAM) predicted torrential rains of more than 200 mm (7.9 in) in 24 hours in the provinces of Manica, Sofala, Tete, and Zambezia.

[53] Around 4:00 a.m. local time on 20 February, contact was lost with the Taiwanese-flagged fishing trawler LV Lien Sheng Fa with a crew of 16 just outside the territorial waters of Mauritius.

[67] The MV Star Venture found the ship capsized on 25 February about 400 km (250 mi) northeast of Mauritius within the nation's exclusive economic zone.

The nation's UNICEF chief of advocacy, communications, and partnerships, Guy Taylor, stated that there was "lots of destruction", and that Freddy was "potentially a disaster of large magnitude".

[112] The entire nation experienced blackout due to the Electricity Generation Company Malawi Limited (EGENCO) shutting down power to avoid further damage to power-generating machines.

[73] OCHA has provided WFP with a $100 million Emergency Cash Grant, which will be utilized for immediate aerial inspections and logistics support following the cyclone.

[137] UNICEF provided water purification supplies, medical items, tents, and hygiene kits among other things to help families and children.

[141] As a result of flooding caused by the storm as well as the cutoff of access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services, cholera cases began to rapidly increase.

[108] As the nation tries to contain a rapidly spreading outbreak, Mozambique has requested an additional 2 million doses of a cholera vaccine from the World Health Organization.

Due to cholera being transmitted through contaminated water and food, Freddy's flooding rose worries of the disease spreading greatly.

[148] It took up to a week or more for families in cut off areas to receive aid, mostly by helicopters provided by Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi's defense force.

[151] The crisis that ensued after Freddy also presented several negative mental health consequences among locals and frontline aid workers.

[152] EGENCO resumed operations at the Nkula and Tedzani power stations on 14 March as water along the Shire River returned to safer levels.

These included medical items, hygiene kits, and even support boats from the World Food Programme for those trapped in floodwaters and rubble.

[119] Malawian Former President Peter Mutharika has criticized the Chakwera administration of failing to evacuate people in the path of Cyclone Freddy before the disaster struck.