Greetings from a very soggy Southern Africa! This is “officially” the last month of the rainy season, but the cyclones coming from the east are playing havoc in the countries on the south eastern part of our continent. Zambia is far enough inland to avoid most of the flooding, but our neighbours are not so fortunate.
This is not an unusual problem. In March 2022 Cyclone Gombe struck Nampula Province in Mozambique as an intense tropical cyclone. It killed 63 people in the country, and another 7 in neighbouring Malawi. People have moved to higher ground hoping to avoid another catastrophe, but Cyclone Freddy has broken records for its longevity — now 36 days — swept inland from the southeastern coast of Africa and is causing massive flooding and displacement. The death toll has passed 100 and the floods have not abated. Bodies are buried in the rubble of destroyed homes.
A friend in Blantyre sent us a video of houses literally “melting” in the 4-5 foot floods. The walls collapsed, the roofs flew off and household goods were being washed away by the torrent. Cyclone Freddy is officially the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere.
It’s the second time the record-breaking cyclone — which has been causing destruction in southern Africa since late February — made landfall in mainland Africa. It also pummeled the island states of Madagascar and Réunion as it traversed across the ocean.Churches have not gone undamaged. Among the dead are whole families including children who were swept away by rushing floods.
Please make this situation a matter of prayer. Share it with friends, family members and church congregations.
If you are led to help, send your gifts through the usual channel and designate it “Flood Relief.” Every dollar designated as such will go to help the victims of Cyclone Freddy and the subsequent flooding in South Eastern Africa.
Thank you for your prayers on our behalf!
