Cyclone Freddy has affected over 500,000 people in Malawi: UN

Tropical Cyclone Freddy has affected over 500000 people in Southeastern Africas Malawi the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday as the devastation continues to riseIn the statement OCHA said the cyclone has affected over 500000 people including at least 326 killed and more than 180000 displacedAs flood waters begin to subside governmentled relief efforts are expanding and focusing on reaching displaced peopleChikwawa a town in Malawi is one of the districts with the highest number of displaced people the World Food Programme and its partners have distributed super cereal a blend of corn and soy to all displacement sites and similar efforts are underway in other districtsHowever some areas remain cut off due to the extremely challenging conditions on the ground Aid workers are mobilising air transport and boats to transport supplies and for search and rescue efforts in locations that cant be accessed by roadAlso Read Cyclone Freddy leaves over 300 people deadHumanitarian partners are concerned by the risk of cholera spreading in floodaffected areas especially in crowded displacement sites UNICEF and its partners are working to clean latrines in schools serving as shelters in Blantyre and will also install water storage bladders to provide safe drinking water the statement readIn Mozambique the number of affected people by Freddys second landfall also continues to rise reaching 340000 In total with the cumulative impact of the floods and the two landfalls more than 510000 people have been affected across the country the statement addedThe United Nations assured that their team is present in each affected province and is working closely with the authorities to provide aid to over 49000 people displaced and to access areas isolated by floodsThe UN also stated that Cholera is also spreading and there are not enough water disinfection supplies to support containment activities to control the outbreakYesterdays allocation of USD 10 million by the Central Emergency Response Fund will help address some of the gaps in the response to cholera floods and cyclone Freddy However more funding is urgently needed to contain the cholera outbreak and to sustain relief operations the statement readHumanitarian partners are finalizing a flash appeal as an addition to this years overall appeal to address the most urgent humanitarian needs resulting from the convergence of Freddy floods and cholera the statement addedOn Tuesday the Malawi Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change said the cyclone was weakening but will continue to cause torrential rains associated with windy conditions in most parts of Southern Malawi districtsThe threat of heavy flooding and damaging winds remains very high the weather report saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever