March 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The balance of victims due to the passage of cyclone ‘Freddy’ through Malawi has risen to 225 dead and more than 700 injured, as indicated by the authorities on Wednesday, who have estimated the total number of displaced people due to the heavy rains at around 90,000. and the floods.
The Malawi Department of Disaster Management has indicated in a report published on its official account on the Facebook social network that ‘Freddy’ has caused damage and victims in twelve districts, including the city of Blantyre, the second most populous in the country.
Likewise, it has indicated that the authorities have installed 165 camps to accommodate nearly 88,300 internally displaced persons, while pointing out that more than 40 people are still missing, so it is not ruled out that the death toll could increase in the next few hours. .
The agency has indicated that the authorities and humanitarian agencies “continue to facilitate the delivery of aid to displaced and affected families,” while rescue operations continue, with the Army and Police at the forefront.
“The Department of Disaster Management has mobilized a team made up of several agencies to provide support to the affected areas,” he said, a day after the president, Lazarus Chakwera, decreed a state of disaster in the areas of the Southern Region. affected by the passage of ‘Freddy’.
Chakwera himself will travel during the day to several affected cities, including Blantyre. “His Excellency he will remain in the Southern Region for the foreseeable future to spearhead the Government’s activities in response to the unfortunate events related to the cyclone,” Secretary to the Presidency Colleen Zamba said.
Malawi has taken the brunt of one of the cyclones that has also affected other countries in the region such as Madagascar or Mozambique, and that has lasted the longest active in the southern hemisphere. In the case of Mozambique, it has made landfall twice. It has also caused damage and victims as it passes through islands of the Indian Ocean, especially in Madagascar.
