“Storm after a storm” is blowing in ‘Madagascar’ situated in East Africa. Only two months into 2022, Madagascar is already bracing for #Emnati. This year, it is a fifth extreme weather event, which is forecast to make landfall early next month.
Storm after storm.
Only 2 months into 2022, Madagascar is already bracing for #Emnati, its 5th extreme weather event this year, which is forecast to make landfall early next week.
Here are 7⃣️ things you need to know⤵️
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) February 18, 2022
- Storm Batsirai carried death and destruction to Madagascar:
Batsirai hits Madagascar’s southeast coast as a tropical cyclone on 5 February, killing nearly 121 people and displacing thousands.
Water levels increased fast in rivers and coastal areas, washing away people’s belongings, while strong winds wrecked houses and roofs.
In mountainous areas, such as the Congo district, Batsirai generated numerous landslides, killing 87 people. At least 270,900 people have been directly affected due to this storm.
2. More storms are expected to come:
Batista was already the third storm of this deadly cyclone season. In January, killed 50 people caused heavy floods in densely populated areas. Hundreds of people are expected to return to their homes. An Intertropical Convergence Zone had caused heavy rains in several critical regions before this.
After a week, Tropical Storm Dumako attacked Madagascar’s northeast coast, destroying several people and destroying hundreds of classrooms.
3. People are reconstructing:
As estimated, nearly 20,000 houses were destroyed, flooded or damaged by the Tropical Cyclone Batsirai, many families are vulnerable. Up to 62,000 people started suffering for shelter and demanded shelter from schools and other joint buildings, but they are now rebuilding their roofs and damaged homes. The city is bustling with the construction sound as people are desperate to return to their homes.
The government of Madagascar used mobile speakers to alert the local communities for the upcoming storm; people placed sandbags on their newly rebuilt roofs and were hoping that this would work to save their homes.
However, some families are not cable enough to rebuild their homes one more time.
4. Efforts of administration:
The administration is working hard to repair roads and damaged buildings, clear debris, reopen schools and hospitals and try their best to distribute emergency aid. The military is also helping to airdrop food parcels in hard-to-reach areas, such as Ikongo.
5. Humanitarian partners are stepping up:
Humanitarian partners instantly deployed teams to the affected areas in order to give them food assistance, shelter, and medical and protection services.
Many countries assisted them with bilateral assistance, including France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, and Switzerland. A European Union Civil Protection team coordinates European countries’ contributions, including water purification modules installed by France and Germany.
