Cyclone
Indhala, the fifth cyclone to hit the Indian Ocean island state
of Madagascar in the space of three months, has exacerbated
food insecurity on the island, destroying crops and hampering
relief operations. The country is still picking itself up after
a string of natural disasters and government and relief agencies
are already overstretched. And about 80% of the country’s
vanilla production, Madagascar’s top foreign exchange
earner, has been lost to the latest cyclone.
This is the first time that the island has been hit by so many
cyclones in such a short period. Cyclone Bondo struck on 25
December 2005 and then four in rapid succession this year -
Clovis on 3 January, Favio on 18 January, Gamede on 26 February
and, most recently, Indlala on 15 March. The seasonal rains
were made worse by the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone moving
slightly south, causing continuous rains from the end of December
2006 to the present moment.
“If the weather conditions continue and there is not more
humanitarian aid, the situation on the island will seriously
deteriorate,” says Kifflemariam Amdemariam of the Disaster
Management team at the Federation’s Regional delegation
for Eastern Africa in Nairobi.
The Malagasy Red Cross Society and French Red Cross –
through the Red Cross/Red Crescent Indian Ocean Regional Intervention
Platform (PIROI) – immediately went into action as soon
as the cyclone hit the island. French Red Cross technical staff,
supported by local Red Cross volunteers, responded through providing
water and sanitation, shelter and the distribution of 40 tons
of basic relief supplies from their base in Reunion.
With assistance from PIROI, the Malagasy Red Cross undertook
helicopter surveillance to examine the extent of damage caused
by the cyclone. Lack of human resources and logistical problems
are still making a proper evaluation by Red Cross teams difficult.
The President of the Malagasy Red Cross also requested the International
Federation to send a Field Assessment and Coordination Team
(FACT) to assist in evaluating the situation in the north-west
of the country. A team has been assembled and deployed to work
with PIROI and the Federation’s disaster management coordinator
from Nairobi.
The International Federation is launching a preliminary emergency
appeal for 773,000 Swiss francs (US$ 637,000, € 477,000)
to help the Malagasy Red Cross respond to Cyclone Indlala. The
appeal aims to meet additional humanitarian needs, including
assisting MRCS in its relief operation for 32,000 displaced
people in the Maraontsetra and Antalaha areas that will provide
affected communities with non food items such as 6,200 tarpaulins,
10,667 blankets as well as jerry cans, water purification tablets
and other basic relief items.
The operation will also focus on the provision of temporary
shelter and preventive health activities. A total of CHF 185,000
(US$ 152,000 or € 150,000) has already been released from
the Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to answer
immediate needs. The Federation co-ordinates very closely with
the Malagasy Red Cross, the French Red Cross, government and
UN agencies in all initiatives taken to support the affected
population.
With gusts of up to 235 km/hour, cyclone Indlala hit the agricultural
town of Antalaha on the north east coast, wreaking havoc across
the region. Properties and buildings were badly damaged, crops,
including vanilla, were destroyed and paddy fields completely
inundated. Vanilla production is the main source of livelihood
for many people living on the coast and the devastation of the
crop has had a serious impact on entire communities. The region
is still recovering from the devastating cyclones (Elita and
Gafilo) which hit Madagascar three years ago. This year farmers
were hoping for a good harvest - the 2006 harvest was small
as vanilla orchids take three years to flower.
Rice, the country’s staple food, has also been severely
affected as much of it is grown in the region hit by the cyclone.
The Malagasy (i.e. people in Madagascar) consume almost 2.5
million tonnes of rice annually.
Even before cyclone Indhala hit the island, 195,000 people were
in need of food aid. The cyclone has compounded pressure on
already precarious food security especially in the country’s
arid southern region, where a drought has affected nearly 600,000
people.
The Malagasy government estimates that around 293,000 people
have been affected, 32,000 have been displaced and more than
150,000 farming families have lost an estimated 90,000 hectares
of crops. In February the government appealed for $242 million
in international aid.
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People
in the affected areas are suffering from the effects of
a series of cyclones to batter Madagascar over the last
few weeks. (p15528)
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Large
areas of land are under water with nearly 300 thousand
people affected. More than 10 per cent of those have had
to flee their homes. (p15529)
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The
Malagasy Red Cross, in cooperation with PIROI and the
French Red Cross, is providing clean drinking water in
the worst affected areas. (p15531)
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