Storm Freddy Roars In, Halting Trade at Key Mozambican Port (2)

Mozambique’s second-busiest port halted operations before severe tropical storm Freddy made landfall Friday, bringing heavy downpours and winds as strong as 120 kilometers per hour.

The port of Beira, located in the center of the country, paused operations from early Thursday, operator Cornelder de Moçambique said in a note to clients posted on its Facebook page. Neighboring Zimbabwe relies on Beira for fuel imports.

Freddy struck Mozambique’s coast Friday afternoon south of Vilankulo, a tourist hotspot about 150 miles south of Beira, Meteo France said. The weather forecaster had previously warned the storm could intensify to the level of a ...