Cyclone Freddy, with powerful winds and torrential rain, killed more than 100 people in Malawi and Mozambique on its return to southern Africa’s mainland, authorities said Monday. The storm is on track to become the longest‑lasting cyclone on record. After first hitting the region in late February, Freddy barreled through southern Africa again over the weekend, making a rare “loop” trajectory that brought it back to the continent.
Malawi bore the brunt of the disaster. Mudslides overnight washed away houses and sleeping occupants, leaving at least 99 dead. “We expect the number to rise,” said Charles Kalemba, a commissioner at the Department of Disaster Management Affairs, at a press conference. Another 134 people were injured and 16 are reported missing. The commercial capital, Blantyre, recorded 85 deaths. Residents, many covered in mud, dug through the debris with their bare hands in hopes of finding survivors. One resident, who refused to give his name, said government rescuers arrived late, while ambulance driver Honest Chirwa described the situation as “very difficult” and noted that rescuers lacked adequate equipment.
More than 11,000 people were affected by the storm, according to the United Nations. The cyclone has added to Malawi’s woes, which already include the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, killing over 1,600 people since last year. UNICEF warned that severe weather events like this are likely to exacerbate the spread of water‑borne diseases such as cholera. President Lazarus Chakwera, attending a Least Developed Countries meeting in Doha, declared a “state of disaster” in the southern region and appealed for local and international aid. Schools in ten southern districts have been ordered to remain closed until Wednesday as rains and winds continue to batter the south.
In neighboring Mozambique, at least 10 people died and 14 were wounded, according to local authorities. The Mozambique National Institute for Disaster Management said the fallout from the storm’s second landfall was worse than expected.
Malawi’s national carrier, Malawi Airlines, cancelled all flights to Blantyre until further notice after an inbound plane encountered the bad weather and was forced to return to the capital, Lilongwe. The country’s energy utility warned that electricity generation would be unstable, as hydropower stations would have to be temporarily shut down to prevent muddy water from damaging turbines.
Cyclone Freddy reached landlocked Malawi early Monday morning after sweeping through Mozambique over the weekend. Formed off north‑western Australia in the first week of February, the storm crossed the entire southern Indian Ocean, hitting Madagascar on February 21 and Mozambique on February 24. After its rare loop, Freddy moved back toward Madagascar before heading again toward Mozambique. To date, Freddy has killed at least 136 people: 99 in Malawi, 20 in Mozambique, and 17 in Madagascar. The last cyclones to cross the entire southern Indian Ocean were Leon‑Eline and Hudah in 2000.
Comments are closed for this story.