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Malawi and Mozambique are racing to rescue survivors from Tropical Cyclone Freddy on Wednesday as the death toll rose above 270 from one of the most powerful storms recorded in the southern hemisphere.
Freddy tore through southern Africa for the second time in a month over the weekend and was still causing heavy rain on Wednesday, hampering relief efforts.
More than 70 confirmed dead. Lord have mercy on your people . Cyclone Freddy has caused serious damage. Let's join hands as a country to assist those affected. Sleepless night, pic.twitter.com/O0D3ZUj1xD
— Rev Fr Petros Mwale (@fr_petros) March 13, 2023
Malawi‘s disaster management department said in a statement that the death toll from the second hit stood at 225, up from 190 on Tuesday, with 707 people injured and 41 still missing.
Multiple videos from the region have relayed the devastation that the unrelenting rains have incurred. One tragic video shows multiple people being carried down a river from the flood waters, while another depicts the cries of a child who is trapped in a house isolated by the floods.
In neighboring Mozambique at least 21 people had died as of Tuesday, according to the disaster agency.
The overall death toll since Freddy first made landfall in February is now estimated at more than 270 in Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar.
Malawi‘s army, police, the local Red Cross, and other aid agencies were conducting search and rescue operations, with commercial hub Blantyre one of the areas hardest-hit.
Severe flooding and mudslides have swept away homes, broken bridges, and destroyed roads. Heavy rain has continued to batter the Mozambican port of Quelimane and surrounding areas.
“Our priority now, as we take stock to what really occurred, is to search and rescue people in most devastated areas. We’ve rescued thousands but thousands more are still unreachable,” said disaster agency spokesperson Paulo Tomas by telephone from Quelimane.
Power supplies in Malawi have been severely disrupted by the storm after the national electricity generation company had to shut down major hydroelectric power stations.
Copyright 2023 Thomson/Reuters. Additions and updates for FISM News by Michael Cardinal.