NATURE AND ENVIRONMENTMALAWI
Cyclone Freddy lashes Mozambique and Malawi, killing several
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Cyclone Freddy barreled through Mozambique and Malawi, setting a world record for the longest-lasting tropical storm over the weekend.
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Cyclone Freddy lashed Malawi early Monday morning after making landfall for a second time in a month in Mozambique on Sunday, killing at least 60 people in both countries.
Freddy made landfall with sustained winds of nearly 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour), causing “severe damage and cutting off children and families from critical services,” UNICEF, which provides rapid response to disaster-struck areas, said in a statement.
After passing the port town of Quelimane in Mozambique Sunday, the storm continued inland towards the southern tip of neighboring Malawi, satellite data showed.
Destructive winds and heavy rainfall brought down trees and damaged rooftops in both countries, with Malawi having borne the brunt of the inexhaustible storm.
Several killed in Malawi, damage survey underway
Malawian police officials said on Monday at least 51 people died in the country, while the Malawi Red Cross Society said at least 66 had been killed in the storm.
At least 36 people died in Chilobwe in the financial hub of Blantyre in the center of the country.
At least five people have died in Mozambique since Saturday, local authorities said. An assessment of the damage was underway, officials added.
Flooded streets, fallen streets, and high winds across a street lane in Quelimane city, Mozambique,Flooded streets, fallen streets, and high winds across a street lane in Quelimane city, Mozambique,
The devastation wrought by Cyclone Freddy in Quelimane city, Mozambique, on SundayImage: ALFREDO ZUNIGA/UNICEF /AFP
Communications and electricity supply in Mozambique were cut over the weekend so the extent of damage was not immediately clear. But electricity has been restored in most areas as of Monday afternoon, the national power company said.
Freddy’s path of destruction
Freddy first wrecked havoc last month, having killed at least 27 people in Mozambique and Madagascar.
More than 171,000 people were affected after the storm and more than half a million were at risk in Mozambique this time, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned.
The storm, which originated in the Indian Ocean in early February became the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
rm/ar (Reuters, AP)
