For six days and nights, Tropical Cyclone Freddy ravaged southern Malawi, leaving in its wake many tragic deaths, including children, thousands of injured people and over half a million displaced. It destroyed infrastructure and property, washed away animals and land with crops ready for harvest – the cost of which may not be known for quite some time.
Over 1,000 people were either killed or counted as missing in 14 districts in a space of six days and nights.
“The death toll remains at 676, with 1,724 injuries recorded. The number of reported missing persons is still at 533,” reported the Government’s Department of Disaster Management.
The number of displaced people stood at 563,771 who are being sheltered at 577 campsites.
Cyclone Freddy demonstrated record-breaking energy and length, lasting for 36 days, the longest in history in the southern hemisphere. It started on the northwest coast of Australia and traveled almost 5,000 miles following an unusual path over the southern Indian Ocean to make landfall in Madagascar and Mozambique before it hit Malawi, according to globalgiving.org.
Damage to infrastructure
Over six days and nights, Cyclone Freddy brought incessant heavy rainfall and high winds estimated at 160 km per hour. The water tables rose and erupted at many places on mountains and hills, breaking river banks and dams, forging new streams that gushed downhill, rolling rocks downhill, uprooting trees and vegetation and sending landslides of sludge and rubble through urban squatter dwellings and some villages. It ripped electricity poles down, plunging urban homes into darkness during the night and destroyed water pipes leaving taps dry for days.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change said in a statement that Nkhulambe in Phalombe, a district bordering with Mozambique, registered 459 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, the highest rainfall ever recorded in Malawi. It added that over a 4-day rainfall period, Nkhulambe recorded a cumulative rainfall of 1078 mm.
“This record is not only higher than the March total rainfall (149 mm) but it is also greater than its annual rainfall (1007 mm)” said the statement, adding that most stations had recorded six times the level they would normally record in a single month.
The Roads Authority said in a written response that the damage to the road network in the southern region was massive and unprecedented and would require large sums of money to be rebuilt. “Obviously much more than the government of Malawi can provide,” Senior Public Relations Officer for Roads Authority, Portia Kajanga said.
Cyclone Freddy damaged 547 schools, 484 primary schools, and 63 secondary schools, affecting at least 273,388 learners and 586 teachers, according to the United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) which stated that:
“Some 426 schools are currently being used as camps and 726 classrooms are hosting displaced people.”
Damage to agriculture/food security
The World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it will need at least US$27 million over three months to provide food assistance to 500,000 people, including those displaced and school children.
“The World Food Programme and our partners are working flat out to ensure food and other essentials reach cyclone survivors whose lives have been turned upside down, while continuing to support search-and-rescue operations,” Paul Turnbull, WFP Country Director and Representative in Malawi told DevelopmentAid.
In cyclone-affected regions, the price of maize, a staple, has skyrocketed to record levels at 300% higher, on average, than at this time last year.
“The country will need significant support in what will be a very difficult year for many,” said Turnbull.
Experts predict ever-intense storms and other extreme weather events in the years to come.
“It is critical that the international community steps up. It is a call to the world not to turn away from the climate crisis,” Turnbull highlighted.
Health fears
There are fears of cholera resurfacing with the illness having killed over 1,660 people in the past year to the end of February, the biggest outbreak in Africa before Cyclone Freddy hit, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The country was dealing with a big situation with the cholera outbreak and resources had been stretched. With Cyclone Freddy hitting, the normal healthcare routine is completely disrupted. Children are traumatized by the cyclone, they were brought to hospital with head injuries, broken limbs, and bruises, while others looked worried or had no family members,” said Palal Areman, Deputy Operations Team Leader for Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit in Malawi.
“Temporary tents put up to treat cholera patients have been destroyed, putting medical services out of reach for many. I think in the long term with water disruption, the pipes broken and water contamination highly likely, cholera cases will most certainly go up,” Areman observed.
“The human face of the global climate crisis”
United Nations Resident Coordinator for Malawi, Rebecca Adda-Dontoh, said Cyclone Freddy reflects the dangers of the intense weather events that are likely to become worse with climate change affecting countries like Malawi that are among the least responsible for the phenomenon.
“The destruction and suffering that I witnessed in southern Malawi is the human face of the global climate crisis. The people I met with – many of whom have lost their homes and loved ones – have done nothing to cause this climate crisis,” she said in her message.
Donor support
WFP has received contributions of US$1.9 million from the Government of Iceland and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Norway has announced a contribution of US$2 million to provide life-saving food and medical supplies, shelter, protection, clean water and sanitation, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has granted US$145 million to support Blantyre City to improve water supply and sanitation services and boost the operational and financial efficiency of the Blantyre Water Board.
The Korean Government has promised to provide US$200,000 in addition to support already announced by Tanzania, Zambia, the European Union, Israel, Iceland, Japan, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Norway, the United Kingdom, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), and the United States.
