Malawi: Tropical Cyclone Freddy - Flash Update No. 5 (20 March 2023)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Nearly 490,100 people are displaced and sheltering in over 500 sites across flood-affected areas of Malawi, as communities begin to reckon with the damage wrought by the Tropical Cyclone Freddy weather system.

• The death toll has risen to 476, with at least 349 people still missing, according to authorities on 19 March.

• The United Nations’ Central Emergency Response Fund has released US$5.5 million for vital life-saving and life-sustaining assistance for flood-affected communities.

• At least 135,000 people in Mulanje, Phalombe and Chikwawa districts have been reached with fortified cereal.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

In the Southern Region of Malawi, flooding and mudslides caused by the passage of the Tropical Cyclone Freddy weather system have led to death, displacement, destruction of infrastructure, and reduced or severed access by communities to essential services, including health care and education, in the 14 affected districts.

There are now at least 490,098 people displaced across more than 500 sites, as of 19 March, according to Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA). At least 476 deaths have been reported, while 349 people remain missing and at least 918 are injured. These figures are expected to rise further in the days ahead as more information becomes available.

Many children have had their lives upended by the disaster. At least 437 schools have been destroyed or damaged by Freddy, while 242 schools are being used as sites for displaced people, impacting access to school for about 140,000 children (65,812 boys and 74,117 girls). At least 307 teachers (196 males, 111 females) have themselves been affected by the disaster, hampering their ability to teach children following Freddy’s passage. Preventing malnutrition is a critical priority—a severely malnourished child is 11 times more likely to die from cholera than a well-nourished child, according to UNICEF. Tracing caregivers of unaccompanied children, and ensuring children who are separated from their caregivers receive care and protection services, including psychological first aid, is also vital, according to Child Protection partners.

Many health-care facilities and staff have been affected by the crisis—including the Phalombe and Nkhulambe health centres in Phalombe district—and there are still communities who are unable to access health care due to roads being cut. Cholera and malaria remain primary concerns, and there is an urgent need to provide chlorine for water treatment to about 215,600 households and mosquito nets to people in displacement sites.

Nsanje, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Mulanje and Phalombe districts still have limited access due to flooding, mudslides, and damage to roads and bridges, according to the Logistics Sector. The only major road routes to Nsanje and Chiradzulu from Blantyre remained impassable as of 18 March due to severe damage, including mudslides and flooding. Although Chikwawa district is now accessible via the M1 from Blantyre, transport to southern parts of the district is constrained. There is also limited access to Phalombe and Mulanje districts due to severe flooding.