BLANTYRE- Malawi’s president appealed Thursday for global support to tackle “a national tragedy” after Cyclone Freddy pummelled the southeast African nation, causing flooding and mudslides that have killed hundreds. The storm returned to the African coast at the weekend for a second time in less than three weeks, leaving a trail of death and destruction, but it had largely spared Malawi the first time around. “The level of devastation we are dealing with here is greater than the resources we have at our disposal,” President Lazarus Chakwera said in declaring two weeks of national mourning. The government has promised 1.6 billion kwacha ($1.5 million) to assist the tens of thousands of Malawians affected by the storm.