Malawi: Five Mozambicans killed in the passage of Cyclone Freddy

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Malawi: Five Mozambicans killed in the passage of Cyclone Freddy

4:29 CAT | 17 Mar 2023

FILE PHOTO - For illustration purposes only

Four Mozambicans from the same family lost their lives in Blantyre, Malawi, on Sunday, after being swept away by flood waters resulting from the passage of Tropical Cyclone Freddy.

Only the body of the mother has so far been recovered, her three children remaining buried in the mud. This brings to five the number of Mozambicans reported to have lost their lives to the cyclone in Malawi.

According to Radio Mozambique, the president of the Mozambican community in the southern region of Malawi, Zacarias Mussaia, regrets the tragic event, a cause of pain and grief, as well as the situation of his fellow residents, many of whom are currently without shelter.

The Mozambican consul in Blantyre, André Matusse, confirmed that an unspecified number of Mozambican families living in the city of Blantyre and in the districts of Nsanje, Mangochi and Chikwawa are still without shelter after their homes were destroyed by floods.

The latest update from Malawi indicates the death of 225 people in the south of the country, most notably in the city of Blantyre. To date, 41 people are still missing, and 707 have contracted serious injuries.

Floods, high winds, and landslides have displaced more than 88,000 residents, now accommodated in 165 reception centres.

President Lazarus Chakwera on Wednesday visited these locations and attended a wake in memory of the 48 buried on Wednesday in Chilobwe, in Blantyre town.

Freddy is one of the longest-lasting cyclones in recent decades, having covered more than 10,000 kilometres since it formed in northern Australia on February 4 and crossed the Indian Ocean to southern Africa, there hitting Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi.

Source: AIM