yclone Freddy, an exceptionally long-lasting storm, has claimed the lives of over 400 individuals in southern Africa.

The vast majority of these casualties occurred in Malawi, where the death toll continued to rise on Thursday night. As search and rescue efforts become increasingly futile, hopes of finding survivors dwindle.

Freddy struck twice in a few weeks in the region, killing 73 people in Mozambique, 17 in Madagascar, and now 326 in Malawi, according to the latest death toll announced in the evening by the president of this poor country.

“The death toll from this disaster has risen from 225 to 326, the number of displaced people has more than doubled” exceeding 183,000 in Malawi, said Lazarus Chakwera, on a trip to Blantyre (south), the economic capital and epicenter of the storms.

More than 300 emergency shelters have been opened.

Formed in early February off the coast of Australia, the cyclone, which is on its way to being classified as the longest ever recorded, made an unprecedented crossing of more than 8,000 km from east to west in the Indian Ocean.