At least 44 dead as Cyclone Freddy pounds Malawi, Mozambique
An unrelenting Cyclone Freddy that is currently battering southern Africa has killed at least 44 people in Malawi and Mozambique since it struck the continent for a second time on Saturday night, authorities in both countries have confirmed.
At least 39 people in Malawi’s commercial hub of Blantyre have died with several others missing or injured, the city’s chief executive officer told The Associated Press on Monday. Authorities in Mozambique reported that five people were killed in the country since Saturday, AP reported.
The deaths in Malawi include five members of a single family who died in Blantyre’s Ndirande township after Freddy’s destructive winds and heavy rains demolished their house, according to a police report. A three-year-old child who was “trapped in the debris” is also among the victims, with her parents among those reported missing, authorities also said.
The cyclone lashed over Mozambique and Malawi over the weekend and into Monday. It’s the second time the record-breaking cyclone — which has been causing destruction in southern Africa since late February — made landfall in mainland Africa. It also pummeled the island states of Madagascar and Réunion as it traversed across the ocean.