BLANTYRE, MALAWI – The death toll from Tropical Cyclone Freddy (TCF) in Malawi has increased to 511, with 1,332 reported injuries and 533 people still missing, according to a statement released by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) on Tuesday evening.
The US government, through USAID Malawi, is providing approximately $4.3 million in assistance to help those affected by the disaster. US Ambassador to Malawi, David Young, met with officials from DoDMA and the World Food Program (WFP) in Blantyre to discuss response efforts and handed over relief items from the US Mission that will be airlifted to hard-to-reach areas in the southern region.
The Malawi Defence Force (MDF), the Malawi Police Service (MPS), and international search and rescue teams continue their operations in affected areas. The MDF is also airlifting relief items, medical supplies, and personnel to places not accessible by road. Helicopters dispatched by the governments of Tanzania and Zambia are also providing relief assistance and airlifting people in need of medical attention to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.
Foreign missions, governments, local and international organizations, companies, and individuals are all providing support towards TCF response operations, following the declaration of a state of disaster by President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera.
The national inter-agency assessment team, which has been supporting affected councils with assessments to establish the total number of affected people and their immediate needs, will finalize their mission on Friday, March 24, 2023.
The situation in Malawi remains challenging, with over 562,415 people displaced and 576 camps set up to accommodate them.
