Geneva, Feb. 5 (BNA): Aid workers on Friday set up emergency shelters and prepared search and rescue teams in Madagascar as Tropical Cyclone Batsirai approached the island, less than two weeks after at least 58 people were killed in Storm Anna there. .
The storm is expected to be stronger than Anna with heavy rain and winds of up to 200 kilometers (124 miles) per hour, and is expected to drive up to 150,000 people home in addition to about 130,000 people displaced by the latest cyclone.
“We are all very nervous as you can imagine,” Pasqualina Desirio of the World Food Program told Geneva-based reporters via video link from the capital, Antananarivo. She added that some coastal areas have already been evacuated and schools closed on Friday so that part of them can be converted into shelters.
Jens Laerke of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said he expected a “significant humanitarian impact” and said teams were stockpiling supplies and preparing aircraft to assess future damage.
During the latest storm, dozens were killed by landslides, collapsed buildings or swept away. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said it is expected to bring more heavy rain with forecasts of up to 30 centimeters on Saturday, and more in mountainous areas.
“If this rain falls on already saturated land, this increases the risk of flooding,” Claire Nullis said in the same briefing, warning of the risks of potential flash floods.
It added that Batserai could ramp up from Category 3 to its Category 4 equivalent before making landfall in eastern Madagascar on Saturday.
After passing the island, she said, Batsiray is currently expected to drift away from the East African coast, avoiding Mozambique.
The area has been repeatedly hit by severe storms and cyclones in recent years, destroying homes, infrastructure and crops and displacing large numbers of people.
Experts say storms are getting stronger and more frequent as waters warm due to climate change, and rising sea levels are making low-lying coastal areas vulnerable.
AOQ