The devastating Tropical Cyclone Freddy that has ripped through southern Africa in a rare second landfall has killed at least 216 people in Malawi and Mozambique since Saturday night. The death toll is expected to rise.
Heavy rains that triggered floods and mudslides killed 199 people in Malawi, authorities said Tuesday. President Lazarus Chakwera declared a state of disaster in the country’s southern region and the now-ravaged commercial capital, Blantyre. About 19,000 people in the south of the nation have been displaced, according to Malawi’s disaster management directorate.
![People stand next to a strong flowing river in Malawi as Cyclone Freddy batters southern Africa for a second time. Photo / AP](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/TEOUUEIBDZFWTHGXAHWJQSFSEM.jpg?auth=08cd4203eb9b4ed340b4b0a7137eabadb175c7f396b736f57493d950484d89a5&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)
“Power and communications are down in many affected areas, hindering aid operations,” said Stephane Dujarric, the UN Secretary General’s spokesperson at a press briefing Tuesday afternoon. The most affected regions remain inaccessible so the full extent of the damage is so far unknown.
Reports from Mozambique’s disaster institute on Tuesday confirmed that 17 people have died in the country and 1900 homes have been destroyed in the coastal Zambezia province. Tens of thousands of people are still holed up in storm shelters and accommodation centres.