Storm Chido kills at least 7, leaves trail of damage in Malawi

 

This handout picture taken and distributed by UNICEF on Dec. 17, 2024, shows Cyclone Chido making its landfall near Pemba in northern Mozambique. The storm moved inland and caused deaths and damage in Mozambique and Malawi.

BLANTYRE, MALAWI —

The storm named Chido killed at least seven people in Malawi and affected more than 30,000 others, disaster officials said Tuesday.

A preliminary assessment report released by Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs said the storm blew off the roofs of schools, health facilities and houses.

Department spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula said at least 7,721 households representing 34,741 people were affected. Three people died in Salima district. Kasungu, Machinga, Blantyre and Lilongwe districts each recorded one death.

Khamula also said the department recorded 16 injuries.

Tropical Cyclone Chido developed northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean and made landfall Sunday near Nacala, Mozambique, where it caused significant damage.

A report from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released Tuesday said the storm affected more than 174,000 people in Mozambique and 64,000 in the Comoros archipelago, destroying thousands of homes.

Chido’s remnants passed Malawi on Monday as a moderate tropical storm causing heavy rains and flooding in about 17 districts, many of them in the south.

Lucy Mtilatila, director for the Malawi Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, told VOA Tuesday the storm had dissipated.

“Our eyes are on the Indian Ocean in case there will be another development,” she said. “But so far, so good.”

School classes resumed after the government suspended them Sunday as a precautionary measure.

Khamula said the disaster agency has withdrawn all search and rescue teams it had deployed in at-risk areas.

The agency, in collaboration with other humanitarian partners, is facilitating relief efforts to assist affected households, he said.

 

By：VOA