A road caves in following heavy rains caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre, Malawi, on Monday. The storm has killed more than 200 people in Malawi and Mozambique on its return to southern Africa's mainland.

BLANTYRE, Malawi — Cyclone Freddy, packing powerful winds and torrential rain, killed more than 200 people in Malawi and Mozambique on its return to southern Africa's mainland, authorities said on Tuesday.

Freddy, on track to become the longest-lasting storm on record, barreled through southern Africa on the weekend for the second time within weeks, making a comeback after the first hit in late February.

Malawi bore the brunt, counting more than 190 deaths after mudslides overnight washed away houses and sleeping occupants.

"We expect the number to rise," said Charles Kalemba, a commissioner at the Department of Disaster Management Affairs.

Another 584 people were injured and 37 were reported missing.

Malawi's commercial capital Blantyre recorded 85 deaths.

Residents used their bare hands to dig through the mud hoping to find survivors.

More than 11,000 people were affected by the storm, said the United Nations.

The impact of the cyclone has piled more woes on a country grappling with the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, which has killed more than 1,600 people since last year.

"Severe weather events such as these are likely to exacerbate the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera," the UN children's agency UNICEF warned in a statement.

Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera has declared a state of disaster in several districts.

Malawi has ordered schools in 10 southern districts to remain closed until Wednesday, with rains and winds expected to keep battering the nation's south.

At least 10 other people died and 14 were wounded in neighboring Mozambique. The Mozambique National Institute of Disaster Management said the fallout from the storm's second landfall in the country was worse than expected.

National carrier Malawi Airlines said all flights to Blantyre have been canceled until further notice after an inbound plane ran into bad weather and was forced back to the capital Lilongwe.

The country's energy utility also warned that electricity generation would be unstable, as it would have to temporarily shut down hydropower stations to prevent muddy water from damaging turbines.

Freddy crossed the entire southern Indian Ocean and hit Madagascar on Feb 21 before reaching Mozambique on Feb 24.