Cyclone Freddy, thought to be the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever seen, raced into Mozambique and Malawi over the weekend, leaving a path of devastation in its wake. As the record-breaking storm caused floods, landslides, and brought heavy rains to many regions of the two nations, the death toll nearly doubled in the course of a day or so.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs stated that 190 people had died, 584 had been injured, and 37 were still missing. Rescue crews on the ground, meanwhile, said they anticipate a surge in fatalities in the following days.
So far, at least 219 people have been killed in Malawi and Mozambique since Saturday night.
‘The situation is very dire…There are many casualties, either wounded, missing or dead, and the numbers will only increase in the coming days’, Guilherme Botelho, emergency project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) told AFP.
According to reports, rescue efforts in one of the hardest hit areas in Malawi is its commercial hub Blantyre and the surrounding districts witnessed severe flooding and rain damage roads and bridges have hampered rescue operations.
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