Cyclone Freddy: At least 190 dead in Malawi due to intense storm
Global News
Freddy has also left a trail of destruction in Mozambique, where it made landfall over the weekend. More than 22,000 people there were seeking shelter away from their homes.
Cyclone Freddy, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere, has killed 190 people in Malawi after ripping through southern Africa for the second time in a month, Malawi’s government said on Tuesday.
The district around the commercial hub of Blantyre was among the hardest-hit. Severe flooding and rain damaged roads and bridges, hampering relief operations.
Freddy has also left a trail of destruction in Mozambique, where it made landfall over the weekend. More than 22,000 people there were seeking shelter away from their homes.
The latest death toll in Malawi is a jump from 99 reported on Monday, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs said.
As heavy rains continued to pummel the country, 584 people have been injured and 37 are still missing, it said in a statement.
Grief-stricken families were seen waiting to collect the dead bodies of relatives from the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital mortuary in Blantyre.
Mudslides triggered by heavy rain have made it difficult to get relief to those affected, aid agencies said.
“It’s a challenging operation in the sense that there’s been incidents of mudslides and so people are getting stuck in those mud accumulations,” said Estere Tsoka, emergency specialist at U.N. children’s agency UNICEF in Malawi.
