Xinhua
17 Mar 2023, 20:18 GMT+10
Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera has approved 1.5 million U.S. dollars for Cyclone Freddy victims support and rescue operations as the death toll has reached 225, with 707 people injured and 41 people reportedly missing.
BLANTYRE, Malawi, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera has approved 1.5 million U.S. dollars for Cyclone Freddy victims support and rescue operations as the death toll has reached 225, with 707 people injured and 41 people reportedly missing.
The president announced Wednesday evening in a televised national address in the country's commercial city of Blantyre after he had attended a funeral of 28 bodies in Chilobwe location, where most deaths have occurred in the city.
Chakwera said he had held an emergency cabinet meeting where the said amount was approved for rescue operations and support of the affected families in the districts where the cyclone hit the most.
"These resources are needed as a matter of emergency. The money will not be near enough as the level of devastation we're dealing with here is greater than the resources that we have at our disposal," Chakwera said.
The president said his government will continue to seek support from local and international communities to meet the required humanitarian support.
Chakwera has also declared 14 days of national mourning, adding that during the period, the country's flag should fly at half mast.
After visiting the affected areas, the president described the damage caused by Cyclone Freddy as "the worst in decades, and far worse than the images we've seen from a distance," and called on all Malawians to "put political differences aside."
In his third update Wednesday, Commissioner for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), Charles Kalemba, said as of 11:00 a.m. local time, Cyclone Freddy had displaced at least 19,676 households (approximately 88,312 people) and killed 225 people.
Get a daily dose of Mexico Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Mexico Star.
More InformationKabul [Afghanistan], March 25 (ANI): Girls will be allowed back into schools in Afghanistan once work on a new curriculum ...
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], March 25 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday inspected a bridge being built on ...
The prices of key ingredients have soared along with overall inflation, according to the outletThe cost of a basket of ...
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 25 (ANI): Legendary batters Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers arrived in Bengaluru on Saturday to ...
Kigali [Rwanda], March 25 (ANI): Paul Rusesabagina, whose story served as the basis for the Hollywood blockbuster "Hotel Rwanda," was ...
geneva - In marking World TB Day, health officials warn the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple global crises are setting back ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that infections by the potentially deadly fungus ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Supreme Court will hear a trademark dispute over a dog toy shaped like a Jack Daniel's ...
KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan's education ministry has announced that the country's school year has begun, but the United Nations children's agency, ...
TAIPEI, Taiwan: In an effort to ease tensions between Taiwan and China, former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou will visit Beijing ...
NIAMEY, Niger: Four weeks after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger, an American aid worker and a French ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: While chairing a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers in Brussels this week, European Union (EU) foreign ...