Cyclone winds and floods that swept across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi affected more than 2.6 million people and could rank as one of the worst weather-related disasters recorded in the southern hemisphere, U.N. officials said. Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai is regarded as one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere as a whole. The storm caused catastrophic damage in multiple nations, leaving more than 400 people dead and hundreds more missing. The tenth named storm and record-breaking eighth intense tropical cyclone of the 2018–19 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, Idai originated from a tropical depression that formed off the eastern coast of Mozambique on 4 March. The depression made landfall in the aforementioned country later in the day and remained a tropical cyclone throughout the entirety of its trek over land. On 9 March, the depression reemerged into the Mozambique Channel and was upgraded into Moderate Tropical Storm Idai next day. The system then began a stint of rapid intensification, reaching an initial peak intensity as an intense tropical cyclone with winds of 175 km/h (110 mph) on 11 March.
Idai then began to weaken due to ongoing structural changes within its inner core, falling to tropical cyclone intensity. Idai's intensity remained stagnant for about a day or so before it began to re-intensify. On 14 March, Idai reached peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) and a minimum central pressure of 940 hPa (27.76 inHg). Idai then began to weaken as it approached the coast of Mozambique due to less favorable conditions. On 15 March, Idai made landfall near Beira, Mozambique, as an intense tropical cyclone. Idai brought strong winds and caused severe flooding in Madagascar, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique that has killed 432 people–268 in Mozambique, 98 in Zimbabwe, 56 in Malawi, 7 in South Africa, and 3 in Madagascar–and affected more than 2.5 million others. Catastrophic damage occurred in and around Beira in southern Mozambique. The President of Mozambique stated that more than 1,000 people may have died in the storm.
Cyclone Idai originated from an elongated circulation that the Météo-France office on Réunion (MFR) began monitoring on 1 March. At that time, it was located in the Mozambique Channel and was moving west-southwest, towards Africa's eastern coast. The MFR continued to track the system over the next couple of days as it developed strong deep convection. On 4 March, the MFR stated that Tropical Depression 11 had formed off the eastern coast of Mozambique. The depression slowly moved westward, making landfall in Mozambique later in the day. The depression retained its status as a tropical cyclone throughout its entire existence over land. Shortly after landfall, the system turned to the north. Over the next few days, the depression performed a loop near the border of Malawi and Mozambique, before turning eastward and reemerging into the Mozambique Channel. On 8 March, at 22:00 UTC, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a tropical cyclone formation alert (TCFA), noting a consolidating low-level circulation center and that the system was located in a favorable environment with low wind shear and sea surface temperatures of 30 °C (86 °F) to 31 °C (88 °F).
On 9 March, the JTWC issued its first warning on the system, classifying it as Tropical Cyclone 18S. At 00:00 UTC on 10 March, the MFR upgraded the system to a moderate tropical storm and designated it as Idai, after an increase in organised convection and the development of banding features occurred. Idai then began a period of rapid intensification, with the MFR upgrading it to tropical cyclone status by 18:00 UTC. At the same time, the JTWC upgraded it to the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Additionally, the strengthening of a subtropical ridge to the southwest and the weakening of the Intertropical Convergence Zone to the north resulted in a decrease in forward motion. Around 12:00 UTC on 11 March, Idai reached its initial peak intensity as an intense tropical cyclone with 10-minute maximum sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph). At that time, the MFR reported that the internal structure of the cyclone had improved, with an eye visible in infrared imagery. Meanwhile, the JTWC estimated 1-minute winds of 195 km/h (120 mph), the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane.
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