Cyclone Freddy leaves more than 100 dead

Mozambique and Malawi on Monday were counting the cost of Cyclone Freddy, which killed more than 100 people, injured scores and left a trail of destruction as it ripped through southern African this weekend for the second time in a month.

Freddy is one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere and could be the longest-lasting tropical cyclone, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

It pummeled 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.

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.

The storm has killed 99 people in Malawi, including 85 in the main commercial hub of Blantyre, said disaster management commissioner Charles Kalemba at a press briefing.

The total number killed by Freddy in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month is now around 136.