Madagascar: second killer storm for the last weeks, at least 100 die

[Andrey Eroshin]

06.03.12.

At least 65 die as tropical storm batters Madagascar
Tropical Storm Irina has killed at least 65 people in Madagascar, most of them residents of the Ifanadiana district in the southeast of the island, weather authorities said on Monday.

Three people were also reported missing, according to the national bureau of natural catastrophes (BNGRC), which did not provide any other details.

Earlier it was reported that only one person had been killed when the storm passed over Madagascar last week before lashing the coasts of South Africa and Mozambique, where at least one person was killed.

"A tree fell on a house and the roof collapsed," killing an elderly man in Mozambique's southern Gaza province, said Rita Almeida, spokeswoman for the national disaster agency.

In the South African city of Durban, beaches were closed as waves reached a height of three metres (16 feet), municipal spokesman Thabo Mofokeng said. Ships were ordered to remain in port.

Irina was the second killer storm of the season. Last month, tropical cyclone Giovanna left 35 people dead and many more injured.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mada...

http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/tropical-storm-irina-gallery-1....

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24.02.12. At least 31 people were killed and 250,000 left homeless after Tropical Cyclone Giovanna ripped across Madagascar last week, the disaster management agency said Friday.

The storm knocked out communication with rural parts of the vast island and blocked major roads with felled trees, making it difficult for authorities to assess the extent of the damage from the storm that struck on February 14.

The coastal town of Brickaville, where the storm made landfall, suffered 10 deaths, with another nine in the nearby but inland town of Moramanga.

The other casualties were recorded in three different parts of the Indian Ocean nation, the National Office for Disaster and Catastrophe Management said said in a report.

But the agency warned the toll could still rise. Of the 686 communities affected by the storm, contact had been restored with only 169.

So far, 245 people have been reported injured while nearly 250,000 were left homeless after rains and powerful winds swept across the country.

Eight clinics and 24 primary schools were destroyed. Another 424 schools and 39 health centres were flooded or damaged, it said.

Bridges, roads and electrical installations were also damaged, and emergency workers were delivering clean water to hard-hit communities.
http://www.pretorianews.co.za/madagascar-cyclone-death-toll-at-31-1...