The death toll in Malawi from Tropical Storm Freddy rose to 99 on Monday, with 85 deaths recorded in the city of Blantyre alone, the authorities said.
The country is struggling to contain the effects of the storm, which has wreaked devastation particularly in 10 of the country’s southern region districts.
Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds have destroyed houses, washed away roads and bridges, flattened crop fields and disrupted power generation.
The main referral hospital in Blantyre says it is overwhelmed by the sheer number of bodies it is receiving.
It has appealed to bereaved families or whose relatives are missing to go to the hospital to identify and collect the bodies for burial as hospital is running out of space.
The storm has crippled power generation capacity with most parts experiencing prolonged blackouts.
The national power generating company says it is unable to restore power with its hydro-power plant off due to accumulation of debris caused by flooding.
Weather experts say heavy rains and flooding will continue on Tuesday as the storm is expected to begin withdrawing from Malawi back to the Indian Ocean on Wednesday.
The Malawi government has declared a state of national disaster in the most affected districts. It appealed for help locally and globally for the tens of thousands of people who have been left without food and shelter.
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Blinken due to visit Ethiopia and Niger
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is travelling to Africa for a two-nation tour – the latest in a series of visits to the continent by top American officials.
Security, a ravaging drought and the jihadist threat in the Sahel will be the focus of Mr Blinken’s visit to the two countries this week
He will be in Ethiopia on Wednesday to discuss the implementation of the peace deal signed between the government and rebel troops following a two-year bloody war.
He will also meet humanitarian agencies in the country.
Ethiopia is battling the aftermath of the fighting that displaced tens of thousands and the effects of the worst droughts in the Horn of Africa region in decades.
Secretary Blinken will then visit Niger – the first by a US Secretary of State – and will help shore up efforts to counter the expansion of jihadist groups in the Sahel.
His visit to Africa follows that of US First Lady Jill Biden, who last month visited Namibia and Kenya.
Source: BBC
