Tropical Storm Ana has killed at least 86 people across southern and eastern Africa, with recovery operations still ongoing as another storm threatened more severe weather.
Storm Ana passed over Madagascar on 22 January, adding to days of already intense rainfall.
The country declared a state of disaster on Thursday night, reporting a rise in the death toll from Ana to 48, with people killed by landslides and collapsing buildings or washed away.
Ana then made landfall in Mozambique on 24 January, where 18 have been reported dead, before moving inland to Malawi, where it triggered massive power cuts. Malawi's death toll rose to 20 on Thursday.
Women take water from a well to start cleaning their homes after Tropical Storm Ana hit the district of Tete, Mozambique. Source: LUSA
Across all three nations, Ana has affected hundreds of thousands of people and lead to widespread flooding and destruction, according to the United Nations.
"This latest storm...is a blunt reminder that the climate crisis is very much a reality," said Maria Luisa Fornara, UNICEF Representative in Mozambique.
The region has been repeatedly struck by severe storms and cyclones in recent years, destroying homes, infrastructure and crops and displacing large numbers of people.
Two men take pictures of a destroyed bridge after Tropical Storm Ana hit the district of Tete, Mozambique. Source: LUSA
In some cases, communities still recovering are hit again, compounding the impacts. Experts say storms are becoming stronger and more frequent as waters warm due to climate change, with rising sea levels also making low-lying coastal areas vulnerable.
Another storm, dubbed Batsirai, is now travelling towards Africa's east coast.
Meteo France on Friday described Batsirai as a small system that presented no immediate threat to a group of islands to the east of Madagascar, including the French territory of Reunion, because it was still days away.
People stand on an overturned vehicle swept by flooding waters in Chikwawa, Malawi. Source: AP
However, it said the evolution of Batsirai's intensity and trajectory remained uncertain. Mozambique's National Institute of Meteorology warned Batsirai still had the potential to evolve into a severe tropical storm.
Bridges washed away, livestock drowned
In the three hardest-hit countries, tens of thousands of homes were damaged. Some collapsed under the heavy rain, trapping victims in the rubble.
Swollen rivers washed away bridges and submerged fields, drowning livestock and destroying the livelihoods of rural families.
In Madagascar, 130,000 people fled their homes. In the capital Antananarivo, schools and gyms were turned into emergency shelters.
A destroyed house is covered by mud from a landslide caused by tropical storm Ana in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Source: AP
"We only brought our most important possessions," Berthine Razafiarisoa, who sheltered in a gym with his family of 10, told AFP.
In northern and central Mozambique, Ana destroyed 10,000 homes and dozens of schools and hospitals, while downing power lines.
Mozambique and international weather services warned that another storm, named Batsirai, has formed over the Indian Ocean and is expected to make landfall in the coming days.
It "might evolve into a severe tropical storm in the next few days," the UN said in a statement.
Up to six tropical cyclones are expected before the rainy season ends in March.
Children stand at their destroyed house after Tropical Storm Ana hit the district of Tete, Mozambique. Source: LUSA
"The situation is of extreme concern" and "vulnerability is very, very high," said UN Resident Coordinator in Mozambique Myrta Kaulard.
"The challenge is titanic, the challenge is extreme," she said, noting that the storms are hitting "an already extremely vulnerable" region still trying to recover from cyclones Idai and Kenneth that hit the region in 2019.
"Mozambique is responding to a complex crisis in the north which has caused an additional enormous strain on the budget of the country, on the population," Ms Kaulard said. "In addition there is also COVID."
In neighbouring Malawi, the government declared a state of natural disaster.
Most of the country lost electricity early in the week, after floodwaters hit generating stations. Power was restored by Thursday in parts of the country, but parts of the electric grid were destroyed.
"Our priority now is restoring power to health establishments, water treatment distribution systems and schools," the national power utility said in a statement.
Southern Africa, and especially Mozambique, has suffered destructive storms repeatedly in recent years.
