Cyclone Freddy claimed several lives in Malawi and Mozambique

Floods and landslides have killed more than 200 people in Malawi and Mozambique, ravaging towns and villages, making it difficult to trace survivors, local media reported.

Cyclone Freddy followed a looping path rarely charted by meteorologists, making landfall for the second time over the weekend in Mozambique, before heading into southern neighboring Malawi early on Monday.

Authorities in Mozambique reported 20 dead and 24 injured.

But Malawi has so far paid the heaviest price for the return of the tropical cyclone, now counting at least “190 dead, 584 injured and 37 missing”, according to a statement from the National Disaster Management Office.