Storm Freddy: Malawi recovers over 60 bodies in the aftermath.
After Tropical Storm Freddy struck southern Africa for the second time in a month, more than 60 bodies have been recovered in Blantyre, Malawi’s main commercial hub.
Winds and precipitation continue to cause widespread destruction.
“Rivers are overflowing, people are being swept downstream, and buildings are collapsing,” police spokesman Peter Kalaya told BBC Focus on Africa radio.
Added that Malawi was “overwhelmed.”
Mr. Kalaya stated that relentless rain and strong winds have hampered the efforts of overstretched emergency teams in the most severely affected southern and central regions of the country.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) country director Marion Pechayre told Reuters news agency that victims taken to a hospital in Blantyre were injured by falling trees, landslides, and flash floods.
She is quoted as saying, “Many [homes] are mud houses with tin roofs, so the roofs fall on people’s heads.”
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Chipiliro Khamula, a spokesperson for Malawi’s department of disaster management, said that casualties continued to arrive from affected areas. Officials anticipate that the death toll will rise as some areas remain inaccessible.
Storm Freddy: Malawi recovers over 60 bodies in the aftermath. .According to the World Meteorological Organization, Freddy is the most powerful tropical cyclone on record and may also be the longest-lasting.
On Sunday, the storm struck Mozambique as a cyclone for the second time in less than a month, after having devastated the island nation of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
It has been difficult to determine the extent of the damage in Mozambique and the number of fatalities because power and phone signals have been cut off in some areas.
The timing of the storm could exacerbate Malawi’s cholera outbreak, the United Nations and other organizations have warned, as the country faces one of its most severe public health crises.
According to experts, global warming is making tropical storms wetter, windier, and more intense.
Freddy broke records for the amount of strength it accumulated during its 8,000-kilometer (5,000-mile) journey from northwestern Australia across the Indian Ocean.
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