Xi extends condolences over deadly cyclone loss

President Xi Jinping has sent condolences to Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi respectively over a deadly cyclone that first struck Mozambique in late February and then hit Malawi last week.

In his messages sent on Monday, Xi said he was shocked to learn of the heavy casualties and loss of property caused by Cyclone Freddy.

On behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people, Xi expressed deep condolences for those killed in the disaster and sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured. He said he believes the two countries will surely get through the disaster and rebuild their homes.

The deadly cyclone has displaced more than half a million people in Malawi, the UN said on Tuesday as it warned of soaring humanitarian needs.

Freddy dumped six months' worth of rainfall on southern Malawi in six days, with floods and mudslides sweeping away homes, roads and bridges in a record-breaking deluge.

The cyclone has left almost 500 people dead in the south of the country, while another 150 have died in its path in other southern African countries since the end of February, UN agency data shows.

"Nearly 508,250 people have been displaced and at least 499 killed" by the flooding in Malawi, the UN's International Organization for Migration, or IOM, said.

"Heavy rains, strong winds, and floods attributed to the cyclone have had a devastating toll on the people across 14 districts — nearly half the country — with at least 1,300 people injured and 427 missing according to authorities."

Cyclone Freddy first struck southern Africa in late February, hitting Madagascar and Mozambique, leaving Malawi unscathed.

The storm then moved back out over the Indian Ocean, where it drew more power from the warm waters before making a rare course reversal to slam into the mainland a second time.

Over 1 million people have been affected in Madagascar and Mozambique, with more than 160,000 people internally displaced, the IOM said.

Extreme weather is increasingly driving displacement around the world, especially in vulnerable countries, the IOM said.

Over the past decade, storms, floods, droughts and climate-related disasters have caused an average of 21.6 million internal displacements each year, it said.

Agencies contributed to this story.