News Alert: Cyclone Bingiza, Madagascar

Bingiza, a category 3 tropical cyclone struck the island of Madagascar on Monday 14th February with winds of up to 200 km per hour. According to NASA the intense cyclone which sustained winds of up to 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour) weakened to 40 miles per hour (65 km per hour), down grading it to a tropical storm as it moved across the islands north west coast.

The cyclone struck the northeast, followed by the northwest, before moving into the Mozambique Channel, then turning back and causing further damage in the southern districts of the island which were already suffering from severe flooding.

Figures released by the Risks and Disaster Management National Bureau (BNGRC) claim that 6 were killed and nearly 3000 were left homeless.

While damage caused was not as severe as expected for a category 3 cyclone , several houses were destroyed, including public buildings and infrastructures. Fishing villages were also left without access to food and medicine when bridges and roads were destroyed. Floods were wide spread in the northern districts of Maroansetra, Mandritsara, Antalaha and Soalala. According to reports the impact was worse in the southern regions.

There are also reports of a small village were 80 percent of the houses were damaged or destroyed by the cyclone in the district of Manana when it made landfall again.

The agriculture sector is the hardest hit. Crops including rice, coffee, cloves and vanilla bean were ruined during the heavy rain, high winds and floods, which left concerns of food shortages in the following months to come. 80 percent of the population depends on rice as an income and food source; therefore there are also fears of widespread impact on the country’s economy.

Although the full extent of the damage is unknown, a damage assessment will be carried out by the BNGRC, followed by an aerial assessment by the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-Spider) and CARE International over the coming week when the heavy rain and floods subside.