Hundreds Dead as Cyclone Freddy Wrecks Malawi, Mozambique

Hundreds Dead as Cyclone Freddy Wrecks Malawi, Mozambique
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 2023. Thoko Chikondi/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

BLANTYRE, Malawi—The devastating Tropical Cyclone Freddy which has ripped through southern Africa in a rare second landfall has killed at least 219 people in Malawi and Mozambique since Saturday night, with the death toll expected to rise.

Heavy rains that triggered floods and mudslides have killed 199 people in Malawi, authorities said Tuesday. President Lazarus Chakwera declared a “state of disaster” in the country’s southern region and the now-ravaged commercial capital, Blantyre. Some 19,000 people in the south of the nation have been displaced, according to Malawi’s disaster management directorate.