Invading from the southeast coast of Africa, Cyclone Freddy made its way to the landlocked country of Malawi, where by Monday it had caused at least 66 fatalities, according to the Red Cross. It was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere.
The second-largest city in Malawi, Blantyre, was severely affected by flooding and mudslides, and the government proclaimed a state of calamity.
In an effort to preserve lives, rescue personnel hastily dug through muck and crumbled structures while schools were closed and flights were cancelled. According to police and relief providers, more bodies and injured people will likely be discovered.
The amount of rubble, particularly in Blantyre, could lead the numbers to increase, according to Felix Washoni, spokesman for the Red Cross in Malawi. “Some bodies could be buried beneath the rubble,”
According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the storm has raged for 35 days, shattering the record for the longest and most sustained storm in the Southern Hemisphere.
It struck the island nation of Madagascar, made ashore in Mozambique on Saturday, and moved farther northwest into Malawi on Sunday, all of which saw significant damage.
The authorities in Mozambique, where 10 deaths have been reported, anticipated a higher death toll as rescuers tried to reach towns and villages that were blocked off.
“We have seen fairly widespread devastation,” Guy Taylor, spokesman for the United Nations children’s agency Unicef, said from Quelimane, one of the worst hit cities in Mozambique. “Schools, residences, hospitals, and clinics all have roofs that have been pulled off.”
Cyclone Freddy took an odd path, passing over Mozambique twice and the island of Madagascar once. Starting on February 24, Freddy made his first trip to Mozambique and killed 10 people. Seventeen persons were killed in Madagascar.
According to Wayne Venter, a meteorologist with the South African Weather Service, the storm was still “alive” on Monday. According to the World Meteorological Organization, a United Nations organisation, this may put Cyclone Freddy in the running to be the storm with the longest duration in history. Both Malawi and Mozambique had severe rain for more than 24 hours after it made landfall.
The storm first materialised more than a month ago, and on February 6 it was given a name as it developed close to Australia’s northern coast. Then it started its over 4,000-mile trek across the Indian Ocean. Only three other storms have been documented moving from the east to the west of the Indian Ocean, according to a tracking organisation at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Meteorologists have not observed that course in twenty years.
In light of Freddy’s strength changes, the International Meteorological Organization has formed a committee to determine if it has become the world’s longest-lasting storm. The storm in the Pacific Ocean in 1994 known as Hurricane John holds the record with a 31-day duration.
At its strongest, Freddy had winds that were roughly 160 miles per hour, or what is considered to be a Category 5 hurricane when it forms in the Atlantic.
Authorities cautioned that cholera outbreaks already present in Malawi and Mozambique could become worse as a result of Cyclone Freddy’s destruction. The watery bacterial disease cholera has already claimed the lives of more than 1,600 individuals in Malawi in the past year. Both nations will find it difficult to control the outbreak with clinics and hospitals now completely damaged and floodwaters spreading.
Lynsey Chutel and Golden Matonga both contributed from East London, South Africa, and Lilongwe, Malawi, respectively.