Tropical Cyclone Freddy

• Malawi’s president said in April that the country’s death toll had risen to more than 1,000. A mudslide in Malawi’s Cilobwe township in Blantyre district killed at least 85. Mozambique’s death toll was 200 across eight provinces. At least 17 people were killed in the island nation of Madagascar.
• As of March 25, more than 564,000 people in Malawi were displaced by the storm across 577 sites.
• In March, Save the Children reported more than 490,000 children in Malawi were unable to attend school due to damage caused by Cyclone Freddy.
• In Malawi, more than 217,000 children have had their schools damaged, destroyed, used as displacement sites or inaccessible due to flooding. In Mozambique, the cyclone damaged at least 1,017 schools.
• The double landfall Mozambique endured affected over 1.3 million people, with over 184,000 people displaced.
• 2.3 million people were affected in Malawi.
• Nearly 299,000 people were affected in Madagascar, with 226,000 in the southeast and over 72,600 in the southwest.
• 3.8 million people in Malawi were experiencing acute food insecurity, with the key drivers being flooding from Freddy, high food prices and reduced crop production.
• The UN’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in May 2023, at least 573,000 children under five are at risk of suffering from malnutrition in Malawi.
• In Mozambique, rainfall from Freddy reached more than 23 inches (600 millimeters) in some places.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) said that more than 300 health facilities were destroyed or flooded in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique.

All three affected countries were experiencing food insecurity prior to Cyclone Freddy, which may be worsened by the disaster.

Communities in Madagascar’s Grand Sud-Est faced increased food insecurity from November 2022 to March 2023. In the Grand Sud region, the situation improved due to a massive increase in humanitarian assistance and relatively good rainfall in 2022 but remained fragile in early 2023.

There was a rise in food insecurity in Mozambique, with an estimated 3.15 million people experiencing severe acute food insecurity as of May 2023. According to UNOCHA, damage to agriculture in Mozambique is a concern “as 92,000 hectares [227,336 acres] of crops have been affected, including in areas where 400,000 people are already food insecure.”

In northern Mozambique, there is only one planting season and the crop destruction means that the lean season will last a year.

According to WFP’s March 2023 Food Price Bulletin for Mozambique: “With prices on the rise, the purchasing power of Mozambicans has been experiencing a downward trend since December 2022. The surge in prices (steep inflation increase) is explained by the effect of the floods on the supply of fresh products and the increase in public transport fares.”

In Malawi, 3.8 million people in Malawi were experiencing acute food insecurity due to the impact of flooding caused by Freddy and the ongoing economic crisis reflected in high food prices. The WFP said the highest reported impact was in Malawi’s agriculture sector, where a total of 2,267,458 people (51% women) lost their crops and livestock as the cyclone destroyed more than 442,000 acres (179,223 hectares) of land.

The UN’s Children’s Fund warned on May 19 that at least 573,000 children under five were at risk of suffering from malnutrition in Malawi. Reports from Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs and inter-agency post-disaster assessment show that Freddy’s impacts have placed many children, pregnant women and lactating mothers at risk of malnutrition in southern parts of the country.

The combined impact of the three cyclones left 60%-90% of farming areas in Madagascar’s southeast badly damaged and food crops largely destroyed. The significant damage to crops, arable land and livestock in Madagascar has resulted in the loss of livelihoods and has worsened food insecurity. At least 1.35 million people in Madagascar were expected to face high acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or worse) during the peak of the lean season (February to May 2023).

The convergence of multiple crises compounded a severe humanitarian situation, especially in Mozambique and Malawi. In Mozambique, the disaster affected at least 123 health facilities. The WHO reported that more than 300 health facilities were destroyed or flooded in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique.

Cholera was a serious concern in Malawi as the country endured its largest outbreak in 2022. The WHO said as of May 28, across their African Region, Malawi accounts for 30% (58,785) of the total cholera cases and 48% (1,760) of all deaths reported. According to UNICEF, as of June 30, the cumulative number of cholera cases in Malawi since the outbreak began in February 2022 was 58,912, with 1,763 deaths.

A cholera vaccination campaign in Malawi reached 1.2 million people, but only one-third of the required health and water, sanitation and hygiene supplies were available. Cholera hit hard the approximately 31,000 pregnant women that were affected by the disaster. Cholera cases were reported in Mozambique as well. UNICEF reported that through June 2023, the cholera outbreak affected 33,076 people in Mozambique, causing the death of 141 people. Sixty percent of cases were in Zambezia and Sofala Provinces.

According to UNOCHA in their Malawi Cyclone Flash Update on March 31, “the inability to adhere to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV, risk of malnutrition, opportunistic infection and disease outbreaks may lead to an increase morbidity and mortality in the aftermath of the storm, according to the Ministry of Health.”

In Madagascar’s Grand Sud-Est, the passage of Freddy in the Vatovavy region left 23 health centers roofless, and affected health access for about 117,000 people, including 56,500 pregnant and lactating women, children under 5, and people with disabilities.

In Mozambique, damage assessments revealed the floods completely or partially destroyed 146,071 houses. Approximately 103,244 houses were located in Zambezia province.

In Malawi, the heavy rains and floods caused significant damage and losses to social services, followed by the productive and infrastructure sectors. However, the disaster impact was highest in the housing sector, with about 260,681 houses damaged or destroyed.

According to Malawi’s DoDMA in their March 15 Situation Report, “Public infrastructure such as schools, health facilities, and district and main roads have been damaged in all affected districts.”

In Mozambique, the cyclone damaged over 1,000 schools and more than 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) of roads.

The Madagascar Red Cross said the cyclone damaged or destroyed many public and private buildings. Yet, according to UNOCHA, while buildings were flooded in the cities of Morombe and Toliara, the impact of the storm was less than expected in Madagascar, and there was little visible wind damage in the villages along the western coast.

The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster in Malawi said on March 29, “Water supply infrastructure and Sanitary facilities have been washed away. In some areas that flooded, boreholes have been submerged under water and the quality of water has been compromised.”