Cyclone Freddy's Toll

At least 270 people have died and tens of thousands were displaced in Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar amid Cyclone Freddy's heavy rains and winds this month. The storm dissipated Wednesday after making landfall three times, once in Madagascar and twice in Mozambique. Malawi's financial hub, Blantyre, saw the majority of fatalities. See photos of the destruction here. Freddy developed off the northern coast of Australia in early February before traveling over 4,000 miles across the southern Indian Ocean—only the fourth storm ever to do so—to southern Africa (see map). The storm became both the longest-lasting as well as the most energetic cyclone ever recorded, continuing for 37 days with a total Accumulated Cyclone Energy of 86, roughly equivalent to an entire Atlantic hurricane season. Read more records the storm broke here. Separately, a migrant ship likely headed to nearby Mayotte island capsized off the northwest coast of Madagascar, killing at least 34 Sunday.