Authorities announced today that the death toll from Cyclone Freddy in Malawi could rise to over 1,200, with the chances of finding survivors diminishing.

The cyclone has killed at least 676 people in Malawi, the epicenter of the disaster. The National Disaster Management Agency said today that the chances of finding the 538 missing two weeks after Freddie’s death are slim to none.

Search operations with the help of specially trained dogs continue in some areas, a spokesman for the service explained on Wednesday.

“Given the number of days that have passed, the chances of finding people alive are negligible, so we are waiting for the police to tell us that we can consider the missing dead,” he added.

It is still too early to make such a decision, police spokesman Harry Namoise said today. “The police and army continue to investigate. When this process is completed, it will be time to declare the missing dead,” he added.

Cyclone Freddy covered an impressive distance of over 8,000 kilometers from east to west in the Indian Ocean. It took an unusual path for meteorologists, hitting Madagascar and Mozambique for the first time in late February, and then again in March when it also reached Malawi.

The cyclone killed 165 people in Mozambique and 17 more died in Madagascar.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.