Officials say the death toll as a result of Tropical Storm Freddy in Malawi has risen to 99, with 85 of those fatalities occurring in the city of Blantyre alone.
The nation is battling to contain the storm’s impacts, which have wreaked havoc in 10 of the country’s southern region districts in particular.
Houses have been destroyed, roads and bridges have been washed away, crop areas have been flattened, and electricity production has been disrupted by heavy rains and strong winds.
The primary referral hospital in Blantyre claims that the volume of bodies it is getting is overwhelming.
As the hospital is running out of room, it has been requested that grieving families and those whose loved ones are missing visit the hospital to identify and collect the bodies for burial.
Most areas have experienced protracted blackouts due to the storm’s crippling effect on power generation capability.
The national power generating business claims that because of an accumulation of debris brought on by flooding, it is unable to restore electricity while its hydro-power plant is shut down.
As the cyclone is predicted to start moving away from Malawi and back toward the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, weather experts predict that heavy rains and flooding will continue on Tuesday.
In the worst-hit districts, the Malawian government has declared a national catastrophe. The tens of thousands of people who are still without food and shelter were pleaded for both locally and internationally.