Madagascar cyclones: Death toll rises to 205
Thursday March 03 2022
High waves crash over a beach ahead of the passage of the cyclone Emnati, on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on February 20, 2022. The death toll from the storms and cyclones that have hit Madagascar in the past two months has risen to 205. PHOTO | AFP
The death toll from the storms and cyclones that have hit Madagascar in the past two months has risen to 205, the UN said Wednesday.
Madagascar government has ramped up its response following the devastation of Tropical Cyclone Emnati on February 23.
Last week, President Andry Rajoelina returned from the Europe-Africa summit in Brussels and continued his visits to the affected areas.
He is touring the country with personnel from the UN and other partners.
They are distributing food assistance, water and hygiene kits and emergency health supplies and supporting the ministry of education to rehabilitate schools.
Non-governmental groups and the government plan to disburse cash to over 108,000 households to support essential needs and shelter repairs.
Efforts are underway to deploy response teams and deliver assistance to hard-to-reach areas, with air transport support from the UN and the Airbus Foundation.
The UN said cyclone Emnati destroyed, damaged or flooded at least 23,400 houses and more than 5,400 classrooms.
These figures could rise in the days ahead as more information becomes available from remote areas.
More than 420,000 people have been affected by cyclones Batsirai and Emnati in southeastern Madagascar, and over 322,000 are in urgent need of aid, according to a preliminary assessment by disaster management officials, humanitarian groups and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Initial estimates indicate that 60,000 hectares of rice fields have been flooded twice – first by Batsirai and then by Emnati – raising concerns about the upcoming harvest and food security across the affected areas.