People line a muddy road in this picture tweeted by the Malawi Red Cross Society on March 13. Photo: Provided
They depict thundering mountains, and rivers of mud and rock that destroy everything in their path.
The storm dumped the equivalent of six months of rain in just six days on Malawi. Some were sleeping, suddenly woke up by the sound of raging water sweeping villages and towns, flooding offices and fields, destroying roads and bridges and basic infrastructure. Parts of the country are still cut off from rescue services, electricity and telecommunications.
For those in the path of the storm, death and destruction are everywhere, even as they race to save the lives of those trapped in buildings or clinging to trees.
According to Malawi’s disaster management department, 326 people have been confirmed dead as of Friday morning. Another 796 people have been injured, while 201 are still missing. More than 40 000 households have been affected and some 183 159 people have been displaced, many of whom are currently living in 317 temporary camps.
The numbers, especially the number of deaths, are expected to rise when they can reach more remote areas and when electricity is restored for better communication.
Grace Kamanga, from Chilobwe, one of the hardest hit towns in Blantyre, the country’s commercial hub, tells how she woke up in her world.
“We were woken up by the sound of a wall falling on Sunday night. My house collapsed. It happened so fast. All I remember was getting out as fast as possible… then screaming, everywhere. All I had was our clothes.”
Kamanga and his family found shelter in a primary school that had quickly become a temporary center for refugees.
Others were less fortunate. Jailosi Lemani lost his wife and two children in a landslide on the nearby Soche hill. “Mud swallowed me and one of my children. From God’s grace, I am talking to you,” said Lemani who was sad, still wearing mud clothes.
Outside Blantyre, districts such as Chiladzulu, Phalombe, Mulanje, Chikwawa and Nsanje are reporting stories of devastation. All the villages and rice fields were destroyed, not only the mud was left behind. Many people have not been helped. Or his body is healed.
“I have never seen anything like it in my life,” said village chief Mtauchila from Chiladzulu, east of Blantyre. “We grew up only hearing about landslides. My whole village with more than 400 houses has been submerged by the mud. Many people have died, many others have been injured.”
He added: “The fields that had corn are gone. I don’t know what the people who are alive will eat.”
Blantyre’s main hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, said the morgue was overwhelmed. President Lazarus Chakwera has declared 14 days of national mourning.
Anger in an overwhelmed country
As the death toll rises, so does public anger and frustration. On social media, there were desperate pleas for help from affected villages, while disaster management agencies and the military were criticized for their inadequate response.
The scarcity of rescue helicopters, which are needed to reach areas cut off from roads, has come in for special criticism.
Malawi Defense Force spokesman Major Emmanuel Mlelemba said helicopters and other aircraft had been deployed but they were overwhelmed by demand.
The military in neighboring Zambia sent two planes to help with search and rescue operations.
“The level of damage we are doing is greater than the resources we have,” Chakwera said in a televised speech.
On Thursday, he approved $1.5 million to be used for recovery and relief services, and called for support from the international community.
In the midst of national grief and trauma, there are many heartwarming stories of heroism and kindness.
In the aftermath of the disaster, Malawians – in the diaspora and at home – took action, using social media to organize aid for those affected, donating money, blankets and food. Schools and churches opened their doors to accommodate the displaced.
The new normal
Typhoon Freddy started from the coast of Australia, and swirled through the Indian Ocean for more than a month, before getting stuck and ricocheting between the island of Madagascar and the coast of Mozambique.
It fell twice in each country, killing almost 50 people. In Mozambique, the United Nations has warned that more than 55 000 people are at risk as heavy rains continue to descend, including in areas – such as the central province of Sofala – which were severely affected by the first landfall of Typhoon Freddy on February 24.
The World Meteorological Association said Freddy was the longest storm on record. It has also set a record for the number of times it has weakened and then intensified again. (Storms take energy from heat and a warmer world means more energy to power the storm.) And it now holds the record for the most energy recorded in a cyclone, holding up to every storm combined in the average hurricane season in the United States.
Cyclone Freddy is the third devastating cyclone to hit Malawi in the past year, after cyclones Ana and Gombe, from which the country has yet to recover.
“Previous cyclones destroyed water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, as well as shelters, all of which exacerbated the current cholera outbreak,” said epidemiologist Titus Divala. The worst cholera outbreak in a decade, and has claimed 1 660 lives.
The storm will become stronger, and deadlier, scientists have predicted for decades. Industrial-scale carbon emissions trap heat in the atmosphere, warming the world and pushing more energy into things like hurricanes. The Indian Ocean, which is Freddy’s fuel, is one of the fastest warming waters on the planet.
In 2015, countries pledged to do what they could to reduce carbon emissions and keep global warming to a sustainable level. But last year, global carbon emissions hit record levels. In the past month, fossil fuel companies, from BP to Shell and Aramco, declared record profits, with tens and hundreds of billions of US dollars.
In the US and Europe, the petro-chemical industry has been aware of its impact on the climate crisis for half a century and is aggressively lobbying against any action to prevent it.
This week Malawians are paying the price for that profit.
This article first appeared on Continenta pan-African weekly newspaper produced in partnership with Mail & Guardians. It is designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp. Your download free copy here.