LILONGWE: Rescuers scrambled on Wednesday to find more survivors in Malawi’s battered city of Blantyre, after Cyclone Freddy struck southern Africa for the second time, causing floods and landslides that have killed over 220 people across two countries.
Weather conditions were expected to become normal as the storm dissipated over land after days of torrential rains, however, localized thunderstorms would be expected, and flood levels remained high in isolated areas, affecting emergency efforts.
Malawi’s disaster management agency stated that the death toll had risen from 190 to 225 with 707 injured and 41 still reported missing. Meanwhile, Red Cross spokesman for Malawi Felix Washon told AFP they had been hoisting people from rooftops and trees.
“It’s a challenge to reach them, the water level is still high, and bridges are damaged.”
Freddy returned to southeastern Africa at the last weekend for the second time in the last three weeks, resulting in a trail of death and destruction.
The officials in neighboring Mozambique have reported 21 deaths, adding that the toll might be expected to rise.
Pope Francis offered prayers for Malawi cyclone’s victims, during his weekly audience at St Peter’s Square.
“I pray for the dead, the injured, and the displaced. May the Lord help the families and the communities hit by this calamity,” he said.
Rescuers fear toll may increase further
Meanwhile, rescue and relief workers in Malawi also feared to expect more victims as they scoured destroyed neighborhoods for further survivors, even as hopes dwindled.
Alabu Wiseman, 24, from a Blantyre school serving as a temporary shelter said that four people from his family were still missing as they were buried in the mud,”
Many people came under mudslides that washed away homes in and around the country’s commercial capital, Blantyre.
Across Malawi, over 88,000 people were displaced, with many now sheltering in 165 temporary shelter camps.
Meanwhile, the impoverished country is already struggling with the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history killing more than 1,600 people since last year.
Cyclone Freddy smashed into landlocked Malawi Monday morning after sweeping through Mozambique over the weekend.
UNICEF Mozambique spokesman Guy Taylor said that the toll might be increased adding that they were still at an early stage to examine the full impact of this devastated cyclone.
The storm has unofficially surpassed the World Meteorological Organization’s benchmark as the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record, compared to 1994 for a 31-day storm named John as Freddy swirled for more than 35 days.
Meteorologists say that cyclones tracking across the entire Indian Ocean were infrequent, as the last occurred in 2000, while Freddy had traveled over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles).
