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Cyclone Freddy Leaves Malawi Devastated – Homes and Lives Lost
Malawi has been hit hard by tropical cyclone Freddy for the second time since last month. According to reports by SABC News, the storm has caused devastation and destruction, with many lives lost and hundreds injured or missing. The hilly Blantyre area was mainly affected by mudslides, with torrential rain sweeping away thousands of homes and uprooting trees.
The death toll has reached 190 people in Malawi and 20 in neighbouring Mozambique. The loss of life and the full extent of the damage is still being assessed, with search and rescue operations ongoing. The storm has left many residents destitute and grieving the loss of loved ones.
Volunteers at the mortuary in Blantyre have been overwhelmed by the number of bodies being brought in, with coffins piling up. For 76-year-old James Davison, the storm has destroyed his retirement package. A retired bricklayer from Blantyre who was involved in building the leafy hilltop mansion of Malawi’s first president lost six houses he was letting out.
Also read: Record-Breaking Cyclone Freddy Strikes Mozambique Twice, Leaving a Trail of Destruction
Malawi’s government said almost 60,000 people had been affected, of which the cyclone displaced about 19,000 from their homes. Aina Pigoti, 64, and her seven children fled the surge. They looked for shelter at a relative’s house after a massive rush of water destroyed their home in the township of Mbayani. Pigoti said, “We just saw a big swell of water and we ran away. When we turned, all our goods had been swept away and the house collapsed,”.
The damage and loss of life scale remain undetermined as search and rescue operations continue. The storm has left residents in disbelief at the enormous ravines in the roads and clambering across makeshift bridges as the rain continues. Survivors and volunteers are still bringing bodies out from the devastation. Some residents had lucky escapes, but the destruction is beyond the property for others. Grief-stricken families waited to identify loved ones outside the mortuary in Blantyre as volunteers at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital mortuary went out in the rain, loading the victims onto stretchers.
Picture: Twitter / ReutersAfrica
