After Tropical Storm Freddy struck southern Africa for the second time in a month, more than 60 bodies have been found in Blantyre, Malawi’s main commercial hub.
Heavy devastation continues to be caused by strong winds and rain.
“We have waterways spilling over, we have individuals being moved by running waters, we have structures imploding,” police representative Peter Kalaya told BBC Spotlight on Africa radio.
He added that Malawi was “overwhelmed.”
Mr. Kalaya stated that the country’s southern and central regions, which have been impacted the most, have been hindered by overstretched emergency personnel as a result of persistent rain and strong winds.
According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF) country director Marion Pechayre, flash floods, landslides, and falling trees caused injuries among the victims who were taken to a hospital in Blantyre.
According to Chipiliro Khamula, a spokesperson for Malawi’s department of disaster management, casualties were still arriving from affected areas. As some areas remain cut off, officials anticipate an increase in the death toll.
Freddy is the most grounded typhoon on record and could likewise be the enduring one, as indicated by the World Meteorological Association.
For the second time in less than a month, the storm struck Mozambique as a cyclone on Sunday. It had previously wreaked havoc on the island nation of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
Because the power supply and phone signals were cut off in some of the affected areas, it has been difficult to determine the extent of the damage that was done to Mozambique and the number of deaths.
As Malawi battles one of its worst public health crises, the United Nations and other organizations have expressed concern that the storm’s timing could exacerbate the cholera outbreak.
According to experts, climate change is making tropical storms more intense, windier, and wetter all over the world.
Over its 8,000 km (5,000 miles) journey across the Indian Ocean from northwestern Australia, Freddy had set new records for strength.
