Malawi seeks help after cyclone kills 225

BLANTYRE, Malawi: Malawi’s leader appealed on Wednesday for global support to tackle “a national tragedy” after Cyclone Freddy pummeled the Southeast African nation, causing flooding and mudslides that have killed hundreds.

The storm returned to the African coast over the weekend for a second time in less than three weeks, leaving a trail of death and destruction, but it had largely spared Malawi the first time around.

“The level of devastation we are dealing with here is greater than the resources we have at our disposal,” President Lazarus Chakwera said in declaring two weeks of national mourning.

The government has promised 1.6 billion kwacha ($1.5 million) to assist the tens of thousands of Malawians affected by the storm, which authorities say has killed at least 225 in the country and wounded hundreds.

Rescuers scrambled to reach survivors in southern parts of Malawi, mostly around the commercial capital of Blantyre, after Freddy smashed into the country and neighboring Mozambique, triggering floods and landslides that have killed nearly 290 people in both countries.

The cyclone began to fade on Wednesday after traveling 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) across the Indian Ocean, before looping back over it and then reversing course to strike Africa a second time, setting an unofficial record as the world’s longest tropical storm.

Chakwera said Freddy was the third storm to “assault” Malawi in 13 months, calling it “a testament to the realities of climate change.”

After visiting some of the affected areas, he said the damage and the plight of the victims were “far worse than the images and footage we have been seeing.”

The president also attended a funeral ceremony for some of the victims in the Blantyre township of Chilobwe.

“This is a national tragedy,” Chakwera, wearing a raincoat and rubber boots, told mourners at a service held at a primary school where 21 coffins, some decked with little more than simple wreaths, were lined up under a tent.

In a national address, he said the sight of the coffins “laid side by side, including several from the same family, was nothing short of heartbreaking.”

Weather conditions were expected to improve as the storm dissipated after days of torrential rains, but localized thunderstorms would persist, Malawian forecasters said.

Flood levels remained high in several areas, hampering emergency efforts.