(CNN) At least 99 people were confirmed dead the Monday after that Hurricane Freddy Malawi’s Disaster Management Affairs Commissioner Charles Kalimba told CNN.
Kalimba stated that most of the deaths occurred in Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial capital.
“We have recorded 99 people killed in about seven councils, Blantyre city was the highest with 85 people killed and about 134 people in Blantyre alone are in hospital,” Kalimba told CNN on Monday evening. He warned of the high number of dead and injured.
The Malawi government has declared a “state of disaster” in the southern region of the country.
The country’s President, Lazarus Chakwera, “notes with great concern the devastation that Cyclone Freddy is currently bringing to most districts in the southern region of Malawi,” Government press release He said.
“Accordingly, the government is already responding to emergencies, providing urgent aid to all affected districts, and calling for local and international support for all families affected by this disaster,” the statement continued.
Malawi’s Ministry of Education said schools will remain closed in 10 of the worst-affected districts until Wednesday statement Sunday.
A tree across a street in Quelimane, Mozambique Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Earlier on Monday, Malawi police spokesman Peter Kalaya told CNN that the devastation caused by the storm flooded roads and caused power outages in the hardest-hit areas.
Kalimba said the rescue effort was “herculean”.
“We are still getting a lot of rain. Now we are seeing landslides, flash floods and rocks rolling down some hills. Because of the weather, the rescue efforts are not easy. Some places we have to go and save people, it’s not easy to get there. It’s hard but we We make sure we do the job that we have to do.”
Killer cyclone Freddie has broken records for the longest storm of its kind and battered neighboring Mozambique as well as Madagascar, killing More than 20 people Thousands more have been displaced in both countries.
It has been described as “very rare” storm by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), who called her flight so far “incredible and dangerous”.
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