Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Malawi

Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Malawi

ShelterBox is sending an assessment team to Malawi after Tropical Cyclone Freddy left over half a million people with nowhere to live.

WHAT HAPPENED IN MALAWI?

On March 11th, Tropical Cyclone Freddy made landfall in Madagascar, before moving over Mozambique and Malawi.

Heavy rainfall led to catastrophic floods and mudslides, claiming lives, homes, and livelihoods, as well as taking out the power grid. Experts believe the cyclone may be the longest lasting and most powerful tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide.

The cyclone hit Malawi the hardest. More than 650,000 people have been in displaced within the country and are now living in crowded rooms, camps, schools and community centers.

ShelterBox is responding in Malawi. Keep reading to learn more about this developing response.

HOW IS SHELTERBOX RESPONDING?

ShelterBox will be working with our partner CARE Malawi to bring emergency shelter and household items to thousands of families. Aid packages will include: ShelterKits, solar lights, kitchen sets, blankets, mosquito nets, water carriers, and multipurpose cash assistance.

We have worked in Malawi several times before, including in 2019 following Cyclone Idai.

Please support this essential work if you can.

DONATE NOW

CYCLONE FREDDY QUICK FACTS:

Open all

Why is Cyclone Freddy a record breaking tropical cyclone?

Experts believe Cyclone Freddy may be the longest lasting and most powerful tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide.

Accumulated energy – Freddy recorded the highest ever accumulated energy for a single cyclone. Even though it was just one storm, it recorded more energy over its lifetime than you would expect to see in an entire North Atlantic hurricane season.

Record length – Freddy developed on February 6 and lasted for 34 days. The current record is help by Typhoon John, which lasted for 31 days in 1994.

What is the impact of Cyclone Freddy in Malawi?

The President of Malawi has described Tropical Cyclone Freddy as more devastating than any other disaster Malawi has ever experienced.

Over half a million (560,000) people have been displaced and are now living in camps and buildings like schools.

Nearly 4,000 people have been rescued since the onset of the floods. However, many more remain stranded in hard-to-reach areas.

The rain continues to fall in many affected areas making any search and rescue more difficult.

Is Cyclone Freddy a result of climate change?

Tropical storms like hurricanes and cyclones are a natural part of our climate.

Whilst climate change is not increasing the number of tropical storms we see, the rising temperatures are causing the storms to become much more intense and have a far more devastating impact. In recent years, we have seen far more of the highest possible categories of storms – Categories 4 and 5.

Research also suggests that the climate crisis is influencing the speed of tropical storms, causing them to move more slowly, leading to greater destruction.

Burkina Faso

Over 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to extremist violence.

The Conflict In Syria

The Syrian crisis has been ShelterBox’s largest and most sustained response in our history. As we mark this tragic 10-year milestone, an estimated 12.3 million people have been displaced by the conflict.