Madagascar death toll from Tropical Cyclone Batsirai rises to 92
Friday February 11 2022
People walk through flood water after several houses were affected by rising water following heavy rains in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on January 24, 2022. PHOTO | AFP
The death toll from Tropical Cyclone Batsirai has risen, with at least 92 people killed in Madagascar, the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) has confirmed.
At least five children under age 12 are among those reported dead, Save the Children said.
Aftermath
More than 112,100 people have been affected by the disaster, including nearly 61,500 people who remain displaced in 99 temporary accommodation sites, it added.
The cyclone’s wind and rains have caused considerable damage.
More than 17,000 houses, 2,000 classrooms and 59 health centres have been destroyed, damaged or flooded.
These figures are likely to rise as more information becomes available, including in areas that have not yet reported on the destruction and damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Batsirai, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) said Thursday.
Emergency response
Emergency response teams are already providing relief, while the Madagascar government is coordinating other operations such as repairing damaged roads and removing fallen trees from roads and pathways.
An Emergency Cash Grant of $100,000 has been provided to the World Food Programme (WFP) by OCHA to enable the use of air assets for immediate priorities, including aerial assessments and movement of personnel and supplies.
Last week, WFP said Cyclone Batsirai had the potential to derail relief efforts that were underway in the aftermath of Cyclone Ana that hit Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi earlier in January.
Cyclone Ana
In Madagascar alone, Cyclone Ana killed 55 people, affected 131,549 others and displaced 71,781.
According to the Mozambique´s National Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (INGD), Cyclone Ana killed 25 people and affected more than 141,000 people others. More than 15,800 houses were partially damaged, 7,729 houses destroyed and 5,941 others flooded.
In Malawi, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) said 32 were killed in the aftermath of Cyclone Ana, 147 injured and 20 people were missing.
Cyclone Ana hit when the impact of 2019’s Cyclone Idai was still fresh in the minds of vulnerable communities struggling to rebuild.
Tropical storms
Cyclones Idai along with Cyclone Kenneth killed at least 1,000 people in Mozambique between March and April 2019.
The two cyclones were the worst natural disaster to hit southern Africa in at least two decades.
Last year, tropical storm Chalane storm hit Madagascar, Zimbabwe in central Mozambique, killing seven people.