Cyclone toll rises in Africa
BLANTYRE, Malawi — Authorities are still coming to grips with the scale of Cyclone Freddy’s destruction in Malawi and Mozambique, with more than 370 people confirmed dead, several hundreds missing and tens of thousands displaced.
On Friday, authorities in Malawi said Freddy killed at least 326 people, with 200 missing. There are hundreds of evacuation centers set up across the country. President Lazarus Chakwera on Thursday declared a 14-day period of national mourning.
In Mozambique, authorities said at least 53 people have died since Freddy’s landfall Saturday, with 50,000 displaced. It’s expected that the death toll in both nations will climb.
Cyclone Freddy dissipated over land late Wednesday after making its second landfall in Mozambique, then Malawi, over the weekend and causing devastation in several regions, including Malawi’s financial capital, Blantyre.
“A lot of areas are inaccessible, restricting movement of assessment and humanitarian teams and lifesaving supplies,” said Paul Turnbull, the World Food Program’s director in Malawi. “The true extent of the damage will only be revealed once assessments have been concluded.”
Both nations were facing a cholera outbreak before the cyclone hit, and there are fears that flooding could worsen the spread of waterborne diseases. Mozambique was also dealing with destruction and flooding from Freddy’s first impact last last month.
Scientists say humancaused climate change has worsened cyclone activity, making them wetter, more intense and more frequent.
Cyclone Freddy has ravaged southern Africa since late February, when it pummeled Mozambique, Madagascar and the French-administered island Réunion. It then looped back to the African mainland after regaining strength over the Mozambique Channel.
Freddy first developed in early February near Australia. The World Meteorological Organization has convened a panel to determine whether Freddy has broken the record for the longestlasting cyclone.