Today's top news: Tropical Storm Freddy, Syria

A cholera patient is treated in Tukombo in northern Malawi. UNICEF

Tropical Cyclone Freddy

The storm continues to break records as the longest-lasting tropical weather system in the southern hemisphere.

It made its landfall for the second time over the weekend in Mozambique, dumping as much rain in 24 hours as would usually fall in one month. Homes have been destroyed, basic services are affected, and livelihoods have been impacted. Thousands of people have sought refuge in temporary accommodation centres.

Freddy has also affected neighbouring Malawi, where heavy rains and strong winds have led to landslides, damaging houses and public infrastructure.

Both Mozambique and Malawi are also dealing with cholera outbreaks.

The UN and our humanitarian partners are working closely with both Governments to respond to Freddy and to cholera.

In Mozambique, aid workers were deployed in advance to the affected area. They are assessing the storm’s impact in support of the Government-led response. Power and communications are down in many affected areas, hindering aid operations.

In Malawi, humanitarian partners are working closely with the Government to coordinate the response. Relief items were stockpiled ahead of the storm’s arrival and communities were sensitized in advance about the possible impacts of the cyclone.

In both countries, humanitarian partners urgently need additional resources to respond to the emergencies.

Syria

OCHA and its humanitarian partners continue to scale up the response to earthquake-affected areas across Syria, where at least 8.8 million people have been affected.

In areas under Government control, more than 360,000 people have been newly displaced since the earthquakes, most of them in Aleppo and Lattakia. Humanitarian partners have provided displaced people and other affected people with food and drinking water. They have also provided health care, including outpatient, trauma and mental health consultations and referrals to health facilities.

As of today, 730 trucks carrying aid provided by seven UN agencies have so far crossed from Türkiye to north-west Syria since the earthquakes using the three available border crossings.