By Alain Iloniaina
ANTANANARIVO, March 8 (Reuters) – At least 72 people
were killed when the tropical storm Irina hit northern
Madagascar in late February, causing floods and landslides,
authorities said on Thursday.
Three people were also reported missing and some 77,911
displaced, said the National Office for Disaster and Risk
Management, BNGRC. The storm destroyed 1,348 homes.
Irina passed through the country on Feb. 26-27, mostly in
the north of the island.
“The dead are either buried under the mud or have been
washed away,” Fanja Ratsimbazafy, secretary-general of the
Madagascar Red Cross, told Reuters by phone.
“Many roads are blocked due to landslides. Rivers
overflowed, isolating many villages. The isolation of affected
areas slows the arrival of information. This also complicates
the organisation of relief.”
According to the U.S. space agency NASA, as of Wednesday,
Irina, with wind speeds close to 45 knots (52 mph, 83.3 kph),
was moving toward Mozambique, and was now about 552 miles (889
km) east-southeast of capital Maputo.
“Residents along the eastern coast of South Africa and
Mozambique should keep an eye on the storm as it moves back in
their direction over the next couple of days,” NASA said on its
website.
Madagascar is prone to cyclones and tropical storms,
especially in the rainy season from February to May.
In 2008, Cyclone Ivan smashed Madagascar, killing more than
80 people and leaving over 200,000 homeless.
In mid-February, another cyclone, Giovanna, killed 35 people
and injured 284 as it swept through the island.
(Editing by George Obulutsa and Alessandra Rizzo)
