The President of Malawi Lazarus Tsakuera yesterday appealed for international aid to deal with the devastation caused by Cyclone Freddy, speaking of a “national tragedy”, whose death toll reached 225 in the impoverished African country.

The head of state has declared two weeks of national mourning; flags will fly at half-mast for the first.

“This cyclone is the third to hit our country in 13 months. Proof of the realities of climate change,” he assessed during a speech broadcast live on television.

Later, visiting Blantyre (south), the financial capital and epicenter of the disaster, he attended a ceremony for some of the victims. Malawi is living a “national tragedy”, the president insisted, wearing a raincoat and wellies.

“I appeal to international partners and donors to provide additional assistance in the face of the devastation and damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy,” he added.

Dozens of mourners had gathered at a school in Chilobwe, near Blantyre. Twenty-one wreath-covered coffins were lined up under a tent, sheltered from the continuing drizzle.

In an emergency cabinet meeting, it was decided to disburse 1.6 billion kwacha ($1.5 million) to those affected. “I can already tell that this money will not be enough,” Mr. Chaquera said in his speech.

Freddie, a remarkably long-lived cyclone, had already hit southern Africa in late February, causing 17 deaths, before reversing course in March.

With less strong winds but bringing torrential rain, the cyclone caused flooding and landslides in landlocked Malawi where a state of disaster was declared and the police and army deployed.

Dozens of people — at least 41, according to the latest official data — are still missing, and President Chaquera has vowed that the search will be “intensified.”

Over 88,300 residents have been left homeless. Schools and churches were transformed into reception centers for flood victims. In total, 165 such centers were opened.

“Almost an Island”

The devastation is “gigantic”, explained Felix Wasson, the representative of the Red Cross in Malawi. Collapsed bridges and water levels, which remain high in places, are complicating search and rescue operations. Survivors were found perched on trees and building roofs.

In Chilobwe, vulnerable buildings made of bricks were swept away by torrents of mud. But life is slowly starting again, markets and shops have reopened.

“There are dead people all over the area,” said Phadila Nzolomole, 19.

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans frontières, MSF), a non-governmental organization present in Malawi, fears a further outbreak of cholera in a country already facing a deadly epidemic of the disease.

Based on the latest weather forecasts, Freddy is expected to dissipate over land, but the rains will continue for several more days.

The cyclone also hit neighboring Mozambique, killing 63 of its citizens, according to the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD). President Filipe Nyusi yesterday visited the province hardest hit by Freddie’s second strike, Zambezia (centre), which borders Malawi.

“We mourn 53 deaths in this province,” Mr. Newsi said on public television during his visit, calling for “urgent” national and international mobilization to “restore the damaged infrastructure.”

Ten people died when Freddy first hit Mozambique in late February.

In the coastal town of Kilimane, about forty kilometers from where the cyclone made landfall, the rain has not stopped since the weekend. Many houses were destroyed, roads were cut in half. “The city has almost become an island,” said Thomas Bonnet of the NGO Friends in Global Health, who is on the ground.

Cyclone Freddie, which followed a path of more than 8,000 kilometers from east to west in the Indian Ocean, raged for more than 35 days. It is the longest-lasting cyclone ever recorded.

Tropical storms and cyclones form several times each year in the southwestern Indian Ocean during the cyclone season, from November to April.