“The storm injured 1,400 people in three countries and destroyed more than 300 health facilities, straining the capacity of health systems in the affected countries,” says director Matshidiso Moeti.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated Thursday that Cyclone Freddy killed 605 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar, and the death toll is expected to rise as 282 people are reported missing.
The balance was given by the director of the WHO for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, during an online press conference on the humanitarian situation caused by Cyclone Freddy.
Moeti said the storm injured 1,400 people in the three countries and destroyed more than 300 health facilities, “overstretching the capacity of health systems” in the affected countries.
Freddy also destroyed or damaged schools, roads and other infrastructure, it added.
The WHO director for Africa pointed out that a large area of agricultural crops were flooded, creating fears of famine in affected communities. In total, he continued, almost 1.4 million people were affected by the passage of the storm.
“We have to increase humanitarian assistance to help affected populations cope with the emergency and recover,” he emphasized.
Cyclone Freddy triggered cholera outbreaks in affected countries and increased cases of malaria and other preventable diseases, Matshidiso Moeti stressed.
Cyclone Freddy: cholera outbreak in central Mozambique
The WHO, he continued, has already made eight million dollars (7.3 million euros) available to support health care for communities affected by the cyclone and has provided training to medical personnel participating in relief operations.
That organization also mobilized 184 tons of medical supplies and medicines, as part of the emergency support to the victims of Cyclone Freddy.
That official pointed out that the impact of the cyclone was exacerbated by extreme weather events and aggravated the vulnerability of the populations.
Freddy is already one of the longest-lived cyclones in recent decades, having traveled more than 10,000 kilometers since it formed off northern Australia on February 4 and crossed the entire Indian Ocean to southern Africa.
Freddy could be about to make history by becoming Earth’s longest-lasting tropical storm
The cyclone first made landfall on the east coast of Madagascar on February 21 and returned to the island on March 5. In Mozambique, the cyclone, It had its first impact on February 24, He landed again two weeks ago.
Source: Observadora
