A Monmouth firefighter deployed to Malawi has told how he and his team were tasked with finding civilians following the devastating floods that hit the country.

Darren Cleaves told the Beacon that over the course of the week “we rescued and led to safety 358 people and delivered 5 tonnes of aid to flooded areas. We also dealt with a number of medical cases including an elderly lady with a fractured femur. She had the injury for 10 days before being treated by our medics, the rescue mission for the lady alone took 7hrs by boat and 4x4 to get her into a medial centre 133km from our base of operations.

“On the Tuesday I conducted a survey of the air via military helicopter and located a group of 82 people near a railway bridge who were cut off and had been without food and water for 10 days. The boats were tasked with taking water purification kits and bags of maize,” he added.

He and another firefighter from the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service were there as part of the UK Government’s response to Cyclone Freddy through the UK-International Search & Rescue (UK-ISAR) team.

UKISAR is made up of 248 firefighters and officers from 14 fire and rescue services across the UK. Together they respond to international disasters through the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office.

Devastating flooding caused by Cyclone Freddy has displaced an estimated 183,000 people across Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar – killing more than 500 people.

Darren added: “All you can see is just kilometres and kilometres of flood water in every direction and we faced a race against time to reach survivors who have been cut off from food for over a week now.

“The people we are rescuing have managed to get to higher ground but are completely surrounded by flood waters and devastation.

“Obviously, there are dangers of animals in the water and I think our personnel have sighted big 18ft crocodiles lurking in the water. That’s not a hazard you come across much in Wales.

The 27 UK-ISAR experts and six medics from the UK Emergency Medical Team (UK-EMT) flew out on Saturday and Darren and his team were based at a displacement camp in Bangula, in the southern region district of Nsanje, in Malawi.

Cyclone Freddy made landfall on March 12, with Malawi hit particularly hard with what would previously be described as a one-in-20-year weather event.

The UK ISAR team is supporting the Malawian authorities in the search for survivors, assisted by their specialist equipment which includes lightweight, nimble boats and a drone team.

It’s the first UK-ISAR deployment for him and he has been astounded by the scenes of devastation he has witnessed.

“I was the deputy team leader working to coordinate our operations and was working alongside FCDO, World Food Programme and the Malawi Defence Force.

“We got intelligence from the Malawian authorities and we are going in with boats to landlocked areas and bringing people straight back before heading straight back out.

“Getting food to the peolpe that haven’t eaten is the big thing. They are being looked after in the displacement camp by the World Food Programme.

“On one day, we rescued 16 babies and there was a pregnant lady as well, so it is very heartening, people in the displacement camp are pleased to see us and grateful for the UK Government’s help.

“At the end of the mission we gifted our boats and safety equipment to the World Food Programme, Malawi Red Cross and Malawi Defence Force,” he added.