Cyclone Freddy wanes after battering Malawi, Mozambique

By VITUS-GREGORY GONDWE and WANJOHI KABUKURU
Associated Press

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — Monitors say Cyclone Freddy has dissipated after killing hundreds of people in Mozambique and Malawi but flooding still threatens both countries. At least 225 people have died in Malawi’s south and within and around Blantyre, the country’s financial hub. In neighboring Mozambique, at least 20 people have died since the storm made landfall in the port town of Quelimane on Saturday night. The cyclone has displaced 88,000 in Malawi and more than 45,000 are holed up in shelters in Mozambique. The heavy rains are now flowing downriver and causing more flooding. An official with Doctors Without Borders says the number of casualties will increase. Cyclone Freddy developed near Australia, crossed the Indian Ocean and has caused destruction in southern Africa since late February.