With communication links cut we don't yet know the full extent of the damage and the number of casualties.

But people died when their homes were destroyed, and police in the city of Blantyre fear people are trapped under rubble.

Freddy is one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere and has caused weeks of persistent rainfall in Mozambique and Malawi.

Initial assessments by humanitarian agencies working in Mozambique say there's been extensive damage to private homes and infrastructure in more than half of the country's provinces.