In the hardest-hit country, Malawi, tens of thousands of people have become homeless. An estimated 345,000 people have been affected by heavy rain, floods and landslides.
– Many areas are inaccessible, which limits the movement of assessment and humanitarian groups and life-saving supplies, says Paul Turnbull, head of the UN food program WFP in Malawi, according to the channel.
– The true extent of the destruction will only be revealed once the evaluation has been completed.
The storm formed north of Australia in early February and was named Freddy on 6 February. It has since traveled more than 600 miles across the Indian Ocean towards Africa, where Freddy struck Madagascar on 21 February.
The WMO has convened an expert group to determine whether the cyclone is the longest-lasting cyclone ever recorded to date. According to the organization, it is likely.
See what it looked like a couple of days ago when the storm hit, in the clip below.