Malawi: Tropical Cyclone Freddy - Flash Update No. 12 (7 April 2023)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Humanitarian partners have launched an appeal for $70.6 million to support the Government-led response to Cyclone Freddy in Malawi.

• Nearly 945,000 people urgently need water, sanitation and hygiene support in the affected districts, which is particularly critical given the ongoing cholera outbreak in Malawi.

• Access to the hardest-hit areas remains challenging as roads are still cut. Chisi Island in Zomba District was flooded following heavy rains on 31 March and 1 April 2023.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

The floods and mudslides brought about by the Tropical Cyclone Freddy weather system since 12 March wreaked havoc on communities in southern Malawi, destroying lives, livelihoods and homes. At least 676 people have died and over 500 are still reported missing, according to authorities.

Nearly 883,000 houses were affected, forcing 659,278 people to leave their homes and shelter in 747 displacement sites including schools, churches, community facilities and other sites, according to the Government’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA). The number of displaced people is, however, expected to reduce in the days ahead as people start returning home or moving to stay with relatives.

The Government has begun to consolidate displacement sites following its directive that displaced people sheltering in schools will be relocated to alternative sites to enable the resumption of classes on 17 April. Advocacy by humanitarian partners is ongoing to promote safe, dignified, voluntary and informed movement of displaced people.
The passage of Tropical Cyclone Freddy further weakened the already inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems in southern Malawi. Facilities were washed away, and boreholes were submerged under water, compromising water quality and increasing the vulnerability of families to the spread of water-borne diseases. Some 944,800 people are in urgent need of WASH, with Nsanje, Chikwawa, Phalombe, Mulanje and Blantyre Districts worst-affected, according to the preliminary findings of the Government-led needs assessment. The destruction of health and WASH facilities threatens to impede the progress made in controlling cholera in Malawi. Malawi accounted for 39 per cent (56,090) of the total cholera cases in the Africa region and 53 per cent (1,712) of all deaths reported as of 29 March, according to WHO.

Malaria is also a growing concern, with limited mosquito nets and shelter facilities available at displacement sites exposing people to the disease.

Protection remains a serious concern. There are significant protection risks, including sexual abuse, in displacement and relocation sites due to men and women sharing the same sleeping areas and limited lighting, according to Protection experts. Risk factors are also present for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), given the scale of needs and the increase in humanitarian response.

In Zomba District, Chisi Island, a small island in the middle of Lake Chilwa is still flooded following heavy rains between 31 March and 1 April 2023 which has further hampered access to provide life-saving assistance to the displaced. Other districts with limited accessibility include Mangochi, Machinga, Phalombe, Mulanje, and Chiradzulu and especially where the rains have continued with the constraints along secondary roads only beginning to be fully understood, according to the Logistics Sector.