About 200 killed as Malawi declared state of emergency
Devastating effects of Storm Freddy in Malawi
Photo; Google
Malawi has declared a state of emergency in 10 southern districts following the death of about 200 people after Tropical Storm Freddy ramped through the area.
This is the second time in a month that storm Freddy is ravaging Malawi causing devastating damage across the country.
The storm has destroyed many homes as Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial hub, has recorded most death casualties, numbering up to 158, including dozens of children.
According to the BBC, the situation has overwhelmed rescue workers having resorted to using shovels to try finding survivors buried in mud.
Reports say the flood have carried away many people and left many houses crushed.
Officials at the main referral hospital in the city said they could not cope with the sheer number of bodies that they were receiving.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders said that more than 40 children were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Officials appealed to bereaved families to collect the corpses for burial as the hospital’s mortuary was running out of space.
The government’s disaster relief agency said many people have been displaced as death toll is expected to rise as some areas remain cut off because of relentless rain and fierce wind.
Writing by Oluwaseyi Ajibade; Editing by Adeniyi Bakare