Hundreds killed as Cyclone Freddy hits Mozambique and Malawi

Storm Freddy struck southern Africa for the second time in a month over the weekend leaving a trail of destruction and more than 200 fatalities as reported by Voice of America (VoA). Mozambique and Malawi were assessing the damage caused by the cyclone. 

Over 10,000 people have been impacted: Department of Disaster Management Affairs

"The death toll, including in other districts that have been hit in the southern region, has risen to 99... but we expect the number to rise," Charles Kalemba, commissioner at the Department of Disaster Management Affairs stated. More than 10,000 people have been impacted by the storm, according to Kalemba, and 85 fatalities have been reported in Blantyre's commercial centre.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) national director Marion Pechayre told Reuters by phone that the central hospital in Blantyre had received at least 60 bodies by early afternoon and that 200 injured people were being treated there. She claimed that landslides, flash floods, and falling trees were to blame for the injuries.

She continued, "A lot of [houses] are mud houses with tin roofs, so the roofs fall on people's heads." President Lazarus Chakwera declared a state of disaster for South Malawi. The cyclone's aftermath has made matters worse for a nation already struggling with the biggest cholera outbreak in its history, which has claimed more than 1,600 lives since last year as reported by VoA.

"Severe weather events such as these are likely to exacerbate the spread of water-borne diseases like cholera," the U.N. children's agency UNICEF warned in a statement.

Freddy is one of the most powerful storms: World Meteorological Organisation

According to the World Meteorological Organization, Freddy is one of the most powerful storms to have ever been observed in the southern hemisphere and may turn out to be the longest-lasting tropical cyclone. On Saturday, it pounded central Mozambique, toppling houses and causing extensive flooding near the port of Quelimane. Later, it moved inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that triggered landslides.

Due to the fact that the power supply and phone signals were cut off in some areas of the impacted area, the full amount of the damage and fatalities, particularly in Mozambique, is not yet known. Since Freddy's initial impact last month, 136 people have died in Mozambique, Malawi, and Madagascar.