On February 6, 2022, a second cyclone, Batisirai, hit Madagascar, killing at least 10 people in southeastern Madagascar, causing floods, collapsing buildings, and knocking out power.
The cyclone brought heavy rains and winds of up to 45 m/s to the east coast. One of the worst-hit towns was Nosy Varika on the island’s east coast, where nearly 95% of buildings were destroyed and flooding cut off access to most areas of the town, officials said.
According to the UN World Food Program (WFP), a total of up to 150 thousand residents of Madagascar were forced to leave their destroyed homes.
Two weeks earlier, the island of Madagascar and the southeast coast of Africa were in the grip of Tropical Storm Ana. According to preliminary data, as a result of the natural disaster, 46 people died, 49 received various injuries, and 65 thousand people were left homeless. In total, at least half a million people suffered from the consequences of Ana.
WFP emphasizes that the recent string of tropical cyclones is caused by global warming and is leading to crop failure, rising food prices and resulting instability in the region.
