‘With this support, we can finally repair our home before the rains get worse.’ But the arrival of a new storm has complicated recovery.
When Tropical Cyclone Chido swept through Southern Africa in December 2024, it left a devastating trail of destruction in its wake.
In Malawi alone, the cyclone claimed 13 lives and displaced close to 46,000 people, stripping communities of their homes, livelihoods, and their sense of security.
Now, six months later, people who lost everything in that horrifying storm, are rebuilding their lives with help from the Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS), funding from an IFRC Emergency Appeal, and support from the Danish Red Cross.
“We were struggling to sleep at night with our house so exposed,” said Godfrey Banda, a father of six who lives in Mileme village, Malawi*. “Now, with this support, we can finally repair our home before the rains get worse.”*
A dual crisis as a new storm arrives
For families like Banda’s, the cyclone meant more than physical damage—it meant uncertainty, fear, and the overwhelming burden of rebuilding. Across the country, similar stories of hardship emerged.
But recovery has been complicated by the arrival of yet another tropical storm.
In March 2025, Tropical Storm Jude struck the same vulnerable communities, compounding existing hardships. Jude brought torrential rainfall and further destruction, affecting nine districts and more than 26,000 people in Malawi’s Southern Region.
In response, the MRCS and IFRC swiftly adapted, integrating the response to Jude within the ongoing Chido Emergency Appeal to ensure continuity and scale in lifesaving support.
In total, the joint response has reached:
- 7,520 people with cash assistance
- 4,374 people with non-food items
- 9,520 people with health interventions
- 15,875 people with critical water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services
In Misomali village, Mary Mangazuwa, a mother of four, remembers the terror as her home collapsed.
“With no proper shelter, we were living in constant fear,” she said. “This money will help us buy black sheet paper to cover the part of our house that was destroyed.”
A community-led response
Nearby, in another village, 46-year-old Lyness Chazinya, a mother of two, recounted the night the winds tore through her home.
"The winds were so strong they destroyed my house,” she said. “I will use the cash to buy cement and rebuild the part of my house that got damaged."
Even before Cyclone Chido made landfall, thousands of Red Cross volunteers were already mobilized—sharing early warnings, supporting evacuations, and helping communities prepare.
These volunteers, drawn from the communities they serve, have been instrumental in guiding shelter assessments, distributing resources, and ensuring no one is left behind.
Meeting urgent needs beyond cash
While cash assistance helped address immediate needs, many families also lacked basic items to get through the aftermath. MRCS responded with the distribution of non-food items—including solar lamps, kitchen sets, blankets, and tarpaulins—to nearly 1,000 households (4,374 people) in rural, hard-to-reach areas.
At the same time, the Red Cross prioritized health and hygiene promotion, knowing that disaster-related displacement often leads to secondary health crises. Volunteers went door to door sharing information on cholera prevention and disease control, helping communities protect themselves against outbreaks in crowded or unsanitary conditions.
As climate-related disasters increase in severity and frequency, the IFRC and MRCS remain unwavering in their commitment to recovery, resilience, and principled humanitarian service.