MAPUTO - More than 60 people have been killed and dozens of others wounded in Malawi and Mozambique by Cyclone Freddy, which left a trail of destrction as it slammed into southern Africa for the second time in a month.
Freddy is one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded in the southern hemisphere and could be the longest-lasting tropical one, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
It pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides.
In Malawi’s main commercial hub of Blantyre, the central hospital had received at least 60 bodies by early afternoon on Monday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) country director Marion Pechayre told the news agency Reuters, adding that some 200 injured were being treated in the hospital.
The injuries were from falling trees, landslides and flash floods, she said. “A lot of (houses) are mud houses with tin roofs, so the roofs fall on people’s heads.”
The Red Cross said at least 66 people have been killed, 93 others were injured and 16 were missing in Malawi.
Police said rescue teams were looking for people in Chilobwe and Ndirande, two of the worst-affected townships in Blantyre, where it was still raining on Monday and many residents were without power.
Six dead in Mozambique
At least six people died in Mozambique’s Quelimane, which was struck hard by the cyclone, authorities told the public broadcaster on Monday.
The full extent of the damage and loss of life in Mozambique in particular is not yet clear, as the power supply and phone signals were cut off in some parts of the affected area.
Mozambique has seen more than a year’s worth of rainfall in the past four weeks, prompting concern that rivers could burst their banks and cause wide-scale flooding.
Malawi has been battling the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, and UN agencies have warned the situation could worsen because of heavy rains caused by Freddy.
Scientists say climate change is making tropical storms stronger, as oceans absorb heat from greenhouse gas emissions and when warm seawater evaporates heat energy is transferred to the atmosphere.
