Hundreds dead as Cyclone Freddy wrecks Malawi, Mozambique

By VITUS-GREGORY GONDWE and WANJOHI KABUKURU
Associated Press

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — 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 continue 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. Initial reports from Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Management confirmed that 20 people have died in the country and 1,900 homes have been destroyed in the coastal Zambezia province.