The death toll from Hurricane Freddy in Malawi has risen, with official figures updating the count from 507 to 511. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in a statement shared with EFE on Friday, confirmed the new totals. More than 563,000 people have been displaced across the country, with about 576 camps now hosting those uprooted by the storm. This represents an increase of roughly 10,000 displaced individuals since the UN agency’s bulletin issued last Wednesday.
In addition, at least 533 people remain unaccounted for as missing. Although rainfall has subsided in many areas, local emergencies continue to arise. Freddy made landfall in Malawi’s Southern Region on March 12 and exited Malawian territory on March 17, leaving a lingering impact across communities.
The latest numbers show that the cyclone has caused more than 680 fatalities in southern Africa and has affected neighboring nations after crossing into Mozambique and Madagascar in recent weeks. Malawi’s president Lazarus Chakwera described the catastrophe to Parliament last week as the most devastating disaster the country has faced.
Freddy has aggravated a health crisis in Malawi, exacerbating what may become one of the nation’s longest-running cholera outbreaks. Health authorities report tens of thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths linked to the ongoing outbreak, highlighting urgent needs in water, sanitation, and medical care. The cyclone is noted for its extraordinary duration, having traveled more than 10,000 kilometers since forming in northern Australia and traversing the Indian Ocean to southern Africa, an unprecedented arc for a storm in recent history.
At least 161 lives were lost during Freddy’s initial impact in Mozambique on February 24, with a renewed hit on the Mozambican coast on March 11. Madagascar endured the storm as well, with the eastern coast affected for the first time on February 21, and Freddy returning to the island on March 5, resulting in 17 fatalities. The World Meteorological Organization reports Freddy’s duration as potentially exceeding the 1994 record set by Hurricane John-Typhoon, which endured for 31 days.