The death toll from the tropical cyclone ravaging Malawi is expected to exceed 1,200.

(AFP)

(CNA) The death toll from Cyclone Freddy, which ravaged Malawi in recent days, is expected to exceed 1,200, as authorities said today hundreds of people were missing as hopes for survivors faded will be pronounced dead.

Freddy dumped six months' worth of rainfall on southern Malawi earlier this month, triggering floods and landslides that swept away houses, roads and bridges in record-breaking floods, AFP reported.

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Authorities say at least 676 people have died and 538 are still missing.

The missing person will be presumed dead after the completion of the rescue operation, which is still ongoing in parts of Malawi, police said today.

"We are still going to places that were previously inaccessible," Malawi police spokesman Harry Namwaza told AFP.

"When we have completed this process, it will be an appropriate time for us to announce that the missing person is presumed dead."

Malawi's Department of Disaster Management Affairs said relief efforts were being scaled back.

"Looking at the number of days that have passed, the chances of finding any survivors are slim," Disaster Management Commissioner Charles Kalemba said yesterday.

In the hard-hit city of Blantyre, search and rescue dogs had been withdrawn because local rescuers believed they were "doing their best," he said.

Freddy made his first foray into southern Africa in late February, hitting Madagascar and Mozambique, while Malawi escaped unscathed.

Freddy then moved back over the Indian Ocean, drawing more energy from the warmer waters, before making a rare change of direction to hit the African continent again.

If all those missing in Malawi are declared dead, the total number of deaths from the cyclone could reach nearly 1,400 across all Freddy-affected countries.