A road connecting the cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe in Malawi is damaged after heavy rains caused by Tropical Storm Freddy on March 14, 2023.
Lilongwe – Tropical Storm Freddy has already claimed 190 lives in Malawi , Reuters writes with reference to the Malawi Disaster Management Authority. As recently as Monday, this office reported 99 deaths. Freddy is one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere and potentially the longest-lasting tropical cyclone.
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< According to the Malawian authorities, 584 people were injured and 37 are still missing. Meanwhile, the country continues to struggle with heavy rains. A state of disaster was declared in the ten districts most affected by the storm. Rescue operations are continuing and rescuers are looking for possible survivors, using shovels.
The storm hit the southern part of the African country on Monday night after hitting Mozambique on Saturday and Sunday. Malawian victims of the element were reported mainly from around the city of Blantyre, which is the commercial center of the country. Officials at Blantyre's main teaching hospital said they could not cope with the huge number of bodies and urged survivors to collect bodies for burial as the hospital's mortuary was running out of space, the BBC reported.
“Rivers are overflowing, people are being swept away by flowing water, buildings are collapsing,” police spokesman Peter Kalaya told the BBC.
The death toll is expected to rise as some areas remain cut off due to persistent rain and strong winds.
