Mar 16, 2023
BY: Natasha SinghContinued rain and power outages have hampered search and rescue efforts this week as the storm caused severe flooding, swept away roads and left bodies and houses buried in mud.
Image Source: AP
It is one of the longest-lasting tropical cyclones ever recorded and one of the deadliest in Africa in recent years.
Image Source: AP
While electricity was starting to come back in Malawi on Thursday, many places affected by the storm had not had running water for a week, including in the second-biggest city, Blantyre.
Image Source: AP
Cyclone Freddy dissipated over land late Wednesday, but weather monitoring centers warned that countries are still vulnerable to flooding and landslides.
Image Source: AP
Scientists say human-caused climate change has worsened cyclone activity, making them more intense and more frequent.
Image Source: AP
It then traveled across the entire southern Indian Ocean before it bounced around the Mozambique Channel.
Image Source: AP
The UN's weather agency has convened an expert panel to determine whether it has broken the record for the longest-ever cyclone in recorded history, which was set by 31-day Hurricane John in 1994.
Image Source: AP
Cyclone Freddy has caused destruction in southern Africa since late February, when it pummeled Mozambique as well as the islands of Madagascar and Réunion.
Image Source: AP
The death toll from Tropical Cyclone Freddy has passed 300 people as the body count continues to rise.
Image Source: AP
Malawi has reported 225 dead so far, with hundreds more injured and some still missing.
Image Source: AP
At least 53 people have died in Mozambique's Zambezia province.
Image Source: Reuters
The storm had already killed about 27 people in Madagascar and Mozambique before it lashed Mozambique a second time.
Image Source: Reuters
The storm has now dissipated, but heavy rains are expected to continue.
Image Source: Reuters
In Mozambique, some villages have been completely cut off since the cyclone made its second landfall.
Image Source: Reuters
While electricity was starting to come back in Malawiy, many places affected by the storm still had no running water, including in Blantyre, the second-biggest city.
Image Source: AFP
Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera visited Queen Elizabeth hospital, where he prayed with flood victims.
Image Source: AFP
Men stood in newly dug graves that had filled up like pools, scooping the water out with buckets so they could lower in the caskets.
Image Source: AFP
Heavy rains are expected to continue in parts of Malawi and will likely cause more floods around lakeshore areas.
Image Source: AFP
As the rains ceased for the first time in five days, rescuers dug up decomposing bodies buried under mud and the debris of homes that had been swept away by the storm.
Image Source: AFP
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