Cyclone Freddy wanes after battering Malawi and Mozambique
Cyclone Freddy dissipated over land late Wednesday after it made second landfall in Mozambique and then Malawi over the weekend and caused mass devastation in several regions, including Malawi's financial capital, Blantyre. The storm dumped six months' worth of rainfall in six days in southern Malawi, leaving a trail of destruction and severely damaging infrastructure as well as flooding farmland. More than 300 emergency shelters have been set up for survivors, while the army and police continue searching for bodies, reported AFP.
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A road connecting the two cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe is seen damaged following heavy rains caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre, Malawi on March 14. Cyclone Freddy, which dissipated this week after a record-breaking rampage, has caused at least 326 deaths, and over 200 are still missing in southern Africa. It has affected more than half a million people in Malawi, reported AP. (Thoko Chikondi / AP)
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Locals dig for bodies of victims with the help of the Malawi Army in Chimwankhunda township after the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre, Malawi, on March 17. Cyclone Freddy has ravaged southern Africa since late February, when it pummeled Mozambique, Madagascar, and Réunion. It then looped back on to the mainland after regaining strength over the Mozambique Channel, reported AP. (Esa Alexander / Reuters)
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A Malawi Police service dog handler leads a sniffer dog into the area of mudslide disaster during a joint search and rescue operation to recover bodies of victims of the mudslide at Manje informal settlement up on the slopes of Soche Hill in Blantyre, Malawi. Scientists say human-caused climate change has worsened cyclone activity, making them wetter, more intense and more frequent, reported AP. (Amos Gumulira / AFP)
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Men are seen transporting their salvaged belongings on a boat in Chiradzulu, southern Malawi on March 17. “A lot of areas are inaccessible restricting movement of assessment and humanitarian teams and life-saving supplies,” said Paul Turnbull, the World Food Program’s director in Malawi, reported AP. (Thoko Chikondi / AP)
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