Malawi: Tropical Cyclone Freddy - Flash Update No. 1 (16 March 2023)

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Tropical Cyclone Freddy weather system has brought devastating rains, floods and mudslides to southern Malawi, killing at least 225 people and displacing 88,000.

• The President of Malawi declared a State of Disaster in the Southern Region of the country on 13 March.

• Search and rescue operations continue to be the priority in Phalombe,
  Mulanje, Nsanje and Chikwawa districts.

• Humanitarian partners are supporting the Government-led response and are deploying staff and supplies to the affected region.

• Relief efforts are taking place following the intense rains, under Government leadership and coordination, but face access constraints due to damaged roads and bridges, with water levels in several districts continuing to rise.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Following Tropical Cyclone Freddy’s second landfall in Mozambique, on 11 March, the weather system moved over land as a tropical depression, bringing torrential rainfall to southern Malawi and causing devastating floods and mudslides.

At least 225 people have lost their lives and 700 are injured, following heavy rains and strong winds attributed to the Freddy weather system since 12 March, according to Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) as of 15 March. At least 85 of those killed died due to mudslides in Cilobwe township in Blantyre district. About 186,000 people have been affected, including 88,000 who are displaced in the hardest-hit districts, according to preliminary reports from DoDMA. These figures are expected to rise in the days ahead as further information becomes available, especially in areas that have been cut off from communications, and the situation evolves.

The President of Malawi, His Excellency Lazarus Chakwera, declared a State of Disaster in the Southern Region on 13 March, particularly in Blantyre City and District, Chikwawa District, Chiradzulu District, Mulanje District, Mwanza District, Neno District, Nsanje District, Phalombe District, Thyolo District, and Zomba City and District. The Ministry of Education has extended the temporary suspension of classes in the 10 at-risk districts, to 17 March as Freddy has caused damage in some schools and others are being used as accommodation centres for displaced people.

Further flooding is possible in the days ahead, as water levels in areas surrounding the Shire and Ruo Rivers and Lake Chilwa are still rising, according to the Ministry of Water and Sanitation.