Cyclone Freddy, “extraordinary” for making a loop rarely observed by meteorologists, killed at least 70 people in Malawi and Mozambique on Monday as it returned to hit southern Africa, according to new reports from authorities and NGOs.
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Also read: Madagascar: Four dead and houses blown away by Cyclone Freddy
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At least 66 people have died in Malawi, according to a tweet from the Red Cross, which is involved in rescue operations and quotes government figures.
An earlier report by the authorities reported 11 deaths in Malawi and 4 in Mozambique. Freddy had already hit Madagascar and Mozambique by the end of February, on the way to being classified by meteorologists as the longest cyclone on record.
17 dead, thousands displaced, homes destroyed, returned to the region last week after an unprecedented looping railway, first falling on Madagascar for the second time in two weeks and claiming 10 lives, then returning to hit Mozambique Saturday night. At least four people died in Zambézia province (centre), which is open to the Mozambique Channel, local authorities told AFP. But the tally is likely to increase as the information is difficult to obtain due to the cut off communications.
The port city of Quelimane (centre), about 40 km from the cyclone’s landfall, is still largely isolated from the rest of the world: roads, water, electricity are cut in places, according to Guy Taylor, spokesman for Unicef on site reached many by phone According to the authorities, people are missing. And the disaster seems to have exceeded fears: “The emergency shelters are overwhelmed because the number of people affected was higher than expected,” said Luisa Meque, president of the national management office of the AFP news agency.
The cyclone, accompanied by strong winds and torrential rain, then made its way to 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 much of the south. Most of the bodies were found in the Blantyre (south) region, Malawi’s economic capital, according to local police.
“Relief operations are still ongoing but are being hampered by the incessant rain,” spokeswoman Beatrice Mikuwa told AFP.
Richard Duwa, 38, an official, told AFP the water suddenly rose in the middle of the night.
At 03:00 GMT (05:00 local time) he received a call saying five members of his family who lived in the township had been taken away: “We have just found the body of a little boy but have not found the others yet” , he said. He has to go to the morgue. Bodies believed to be his relatives have been found downstream.National carrier Malawi Airlines has suspended all flights to Blantyre until further notice.Freddy, who has now claimed around 100 lives, is expected to return to sea later in the week and be weakened, according to forecasts.
The phenomenon, which originated off Australia and reached storm stage in early February, has been raging in the Indian Ocean for 35 days. It passed through the French island of Reunion and Mauritius, causing limited damage there. Several storms or cyclones sweep across the southwestern Indian Ocean each year during the hurricane season, which lasts from November through April.