Malawi declares 14 days of mourning over cyclone deaths

BLANTYRE, Malawi: Malawi´s President Lazarus Chakwera on Wednesday declared two weeks of national mourning for the more than 200 people killed by Cyclone Freddy, which struck early this week.

The cyclone finally faded after an 8,000-km trek in which it crossed the Indian Ocean, reversed course to strike Africa a second time and set an unofficial record for the world´s longest tropical storm.

“In view of the extent of the loss of life caused by this disaster, I have directed that all of us as a nation observe 14 days of mourning and that all flags fly at half mast for the first seven of those days,” Chakwera said in an address to the nation.

Cyclone Freddy left a trail of death and destruction. In Malawi it killed at least 225 people, injuring hundreds, and leaving 41 missing, according to official figures, as floods and mudslides washed away homes and buried their inhabitants.