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Madagascar: Cyclone Ivan Wrecking Havoc.

· Written by Lova Rakotomalala

Categories: Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Breaking News, Disaster, Environment

Tropical Cyclone Ivan has landfalled in the Northeastern region of Madagascar on February, 17th [1] and it is now categorized as a category 4 Hurricane.

ivan
(via meteo france [2])

Even though Madagascar is better prepared for cyclone season, having already taken the blunt of many cyclones (most recently cyclone Fame), the region was still devastated by the shear force of the combination of wind and rain.

Avylavitra reports [3] that because of lines of communications being cut off, 9 people died already on the island of Sainte-Marie [mg] (translated in French [4] here)

“Omaly dia nisy vehivavy niantso maika ny rainy taty Antananarivo nilaza fa nianjeran-javatra ny hotely nisy azy ary dia nirodana ka tototra ao miaraka amin’ny olona valo hafa izy. Ary dia io rainy io kosa nandefa antso vonjy tao amin’ny RNM (Radio National Malagasy). Naverina tao amin’ny Radio io antso io sao mba misy afaka mamonjy azy ireo any an-toerana. Rehefa avy nandefa ny antso tao amin’ny Radio ity raim-pianakaviana dia niverina niantso an-janany tamin’ny telefaonina indray, nefa indrisy fa tsy nisy nandray intsony izay antso rehetra nataony.
Na izahay nihaino ny radio aza dia nangitakitaka sy nientana anaty ihany niandry izay tohin’ity tantara ratsy ity mndra-paharainan’ny andro.
Tapaka daholo ny fifandraisana tany an-teorana taorian’ilay antso nataon’ilay ray mahantra. Eny fa na ny BLU tokony ho nampiasain’ny BNGRC (sampana misahana ny vonjy taitra mandritry ny tranga toy izao) aza dia tsy nandeha. Koa lasa antso tany an-tany efitra ilay filàna vonjy nataony.
Nivoaka tamin’ny gazety rehetra androany maraina fa tapitra maty avokoa ireo olona sivy tototra tao amin’ity hotely tra-doza ity. Indrisy, mampalahelo”

“A young woman in Sainte-Marie urgently called her father in Antananarivo to warn him that she was stuck under the ruins of her hotel along with eight other people.
The father called desperately the National Malagsy Radio (RNM) for urgent help in Sainte-Marie. He then tried to reach his daughter again many times by phone in vain as her daughter would not answer anymore. Listening to the news and waiting for updates on this dreadful situation was very stressful and difficult to bear for most of the listeners on the radio. The poor father was unable to reach the authorities because all the communication lines were cut off, even the office dedicated for emergency relief (le Bureau National de la Gestion des Risques et des Catastrophes: BNGRC) was unreachable. That was why the young woman had to call her father who was 400 km away, unable to provide direct help.
The newspapers announced today that all 9 of then were found dead inside the ruins of the hotel.”

Mialisoa gives a thorough summary of the situation as Ivan moves toward the south [5] (Fr):

” La partie Est de Madagascar est fortement touchée: Atsinanana, Analanjirofo, Alaotra Mangoro. Cette dernière avance un bilan provisoire d'un peu moins de 500 sinistrés ce matin, principalement dans le district d'Andasibe à cause de la crue des eaux. Aux dernières nouvelles relayées par la radio nationale grâce à son fameux “Ampitapitao” ( oui, l'émission existe toujours), la route nationale 2 qui joint la capitale à Toamasina est inondée, aucune navette n'est possible […] Le cyclone s'affaiblit mais la pluie persiste. Antananarivo boit la tasse ( comme vache qui pisse, me dit Anselme ) depuis samedi, vers 1h du matin. Aucune éclaircie en vue, la capitale est ses environs passent leur temps entre petite pluie et averses hargneux, coups de vents, coups de froid, boue et flaques. “L'eau monte à vue d'oeil”, me confie un riverain, “pas besoin d'averse, mais rien q'une fine pluie et dès demain, on y est”. Comme quelques uns de ses voisins, il est candidat aux premiers déménagements qui ont commencé depuis samedi soir du côté d'Anosizato.”

The eastern part of Madagascar was severely affected by Ivan: Atsinanana, Analanjirofo, Alaotra Mangoro. The latest update on the provisional toll is of just under 500 homeless this morning, mainly in the district of Andasibe because of the rise of the water. According to the latest news relayed by the national radio thanks to its famous broadcast “Ampitapitao”, many portions of the National Highway number 2, which links the capital city to Toamasina, is underwater and any kind of transportation on it is currently impossible […] the cyclone is weakening, but the rain persists. Antananarivo is soaked up since Saturday, around 1 am. No silver lining in sight, the capital city and its surrounding are caught between light rain, heavy sudden showers, gusty wind blows, sudden drops in temperatures, mud and puddles. “The water is rising before our eyes,” says one of the city commuters, “even a persistent fine rain could be enough to induce major flooding.” Like some of his neighbors, he is a primary candidate for an early displacement, a measure that has alrady begun Saturday evening in Anosizato.

Jandre in Madagascar has more satellite images [6] of Ivan and explains that considering that it takes 3 years for Vanilla to mature, the effects of Ivan are disastrous on many levels.

Tomavana has aslo posted an exhaustive summary (mg) [7] about the recent updates from meteorologists on Cyclone Ivan in Madagascar.
We will update this story and the report from the ground as the story unfolds. We also would like to thank the folks at Rising Voices, Nari Jibon [8] and Voces Bolivianas [9] for their words of support to the people caught in the storm and their valuable advices on keeping the lines of communication open within the country and with the outside world.