Recurrent disasters buffet Madagascar by Matt Taylor
Madagascar has been pummelled by six cyclones and tropical storms since last December and close to half a million people have been affected. By early March, Cyclones Bondo, Clovis, Gamede and Favio had already brought widespread flooding, displacement and crop damage. These problems were multiplied in many areas when Cyclone Indala cut a path of devastation across the north-eastern part of the island in mid-March.
Cyclone Jaya again threatened the northeast of the country in early April with high winds, heavy rains and flooding. Due to the flooding tens of thousands of hectares of rice, the basic food source for the Malagasy, have been destroyed.
Humanitarian partners and local authorities quickly mobilised to jointly assess needs and deliver urgent assistance to the most affected populations. However cumulatively these natural disasters have exhausted in-country resources and aid agencies say they are stretched beyond capacity.
The consequences of Cyclone Jaya are currently being assessed and the remnants of Jaya will continue to bring locally heavy rainfall to some areas of Madagascar over the next four or five days.
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