Cyclone Freddy: Death toll in Malawi reaches 326; over 400 killed across region

Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera on Thursday said that the death toll due to Cyclone Freddy has reached 326. The cyclone lashed the country after making another landfall on southern Africa's mainland, increasing the total number of people killed across the region to over 400 since February.

"As of yesterday, the death toll from this disaster has risen from 225 to 326, and the number of people displaced has more than doubled to 183,159," said Chakwera, speaking from the devastated southern region near Blantyre.

President Chakwera has further appealed for global aid as the search for survivors continues on Thursday after the mudslides and flooding caused by torrential rains this week.

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Southern Africa was first struck by the cyclone in late February, as it hit Mozambique and Madagascar, but caused limited damage in Malawi which is a landlocked country.

The storm then travelled to the Indian Ocean, where it got more powerful due to the warm waters before it made a rare recourse to hit the mainland for the second time.

Since Wednesday, the rainhaseased but Freddy continues to be on track to become one of the longest tropical storms in the world.

In Mozambique, at least 63 people died and around 49,000 have been displaced due to the storm, as per the official figures released on Wednesday.

An appeal for aid has been made by Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi to rebuild destroyed infrastructure.

As per the meteorologists, the cyclone has been exceptional in its duration and its characteristics have been consistent with the warnings given related to climate change.

Malawians look out for dead bodies buried under mud

Using shovels, the rescuers are making a grim hunt for the bodies buried under the mud.

"Since yesterday, we noticed that there have been bubbles forming in the mud so we suspected that there were dead bodies down there, and we decided to alert the rescue teams," said local resident Alfred Mbule.

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"Just this morning alone, our group has recovered three bodies and another group has recovered two bodies. Yesterday afternoon, we recovered three bodies," he added.

"We suspect that these bodies may have come from the mountain in the mudslide and they just happened to be trapped by these houses that are still standing," Mbule stated.

(With inputs from agencies)

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