This exceptionally long cyclone with an unprecedented trajectory had already hit Madagascar and Mozambique in late February, killing 17 and displacing thousands.
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Posted on 3/13/2023 10:50 PM Updated on 3/14/2023 8:50 AM
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The damage caused by the return of Cyclone Freddy in Quelimane, Mozambique, March 12, 2023. (ALFREDO ZUNIGA / UNICEF / AFP)
Cyclone Freddy, “extraordinary” because it made a loop rarely observed by meteorologists, killed more than 100 people in Malawi and Mozambique as it returned to hit southern Africa, authorities in those two countries said on Monday (March 13). ) with.
At least 99 people have died and dozens more injured in Malawi after an overnight mudslide swept away homes and buried residents. The poor country’s disaster management agency said it expects an even heavier toll. According to local authorities, at least 10 people have died and 14 others have been injured in neighboring Mozambique.
In the Blantyre region alone, Malawi’s economic capital, where residents scoured the mud with their bare hands or shovels for survivors, there were 85 deaths. Malawi has declared a state of disaster in several southern parts of the country, including Blantyre. According to the United Nations, more than 11,000 people were displaced by the storm.
The cyclone is expected to start again and weaken over the course of the week
On the way to being classified as the longest cyclone ever recorded by meteorologists, Freddy had already hit Madagascar and Mozambique at the end of February. The number of victims at that time was 17 dead, thousands displaced and devastated houses. Returning to the region last week after an unprecedented looping trajectory, it fell on Madagascar for the second time in two weeks, killing 10 people. Then he came back to meet Mozambique on Saturday night.
The cyclone then moved towards neighboring Malawi during the night from Sunday to Monday, causing flooding and large mudslides. Schools in the country, which is among the poorest in the world, have been closed in large parts of the south. Freddy is due to set sail again later in the week and is forecast to weaken.
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