At least 10 people have been killed in torrential rains in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, and more than 500 people have been left homeless, local authorities said today.
Most of the victims were trapped in landslides or houses that collapsed, especially in the run-down neighborhoods of the Antananarivo suburbs, home to nearly 1.3 million people.
More than 100 millimeters of water fell during last night. “The worst is yet to come in the next 24 hours,” warned Home Office Disaster Management (BNGRC) spokeswoman Sonia Ray.
“Rainfall will continue throughout January,” he added.
The Indian Ocean island is forecast to be hit by heavy rainfall in the coming days, which will reach new highs the day after tomorrow, Thursday.
“We expect a cyclone on the east coast at the end of the week,” meteorologist Lovadrini Ratovogarhoa, director general of meteorology, told AFP.
Every year, the country with a tropical climate faces a period of heavy and often deadly rainfall. In January 2020, heavy rains left 32 dead and thousands injured.
Pictures showing many people on the streets, with muddy water reaching up to the thighs, were posted on social media. Others climbed walls to escape the water.
In the afternoon the rains continued in the capital, with the sky being dark and loud thunder being heard. Rainfall so far has focused on the northern half of the island.
Twenty municipalities around the capital have been put on red alert for “imminent danger”.
The fire service and civil protection have been mobilized to evacuate high-risk areas, and the government is considering closing schools this week.
“Floods are common in Madagascar, especially during the rainy season between October and April. “But yesterday it was extremely intense,” Ratovocaroja said.
Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, also regularly experiences cyclones or other tropical storms.
In 2018, Cyclone Ava left behind 51 dead and 22 missing. Two months later, Tropical Storm Eliakim killed 20 people and left nearly 19,000 injured.
The island is also affected by strong heat waves or floods, extreme weather events that have been intensified by climate change, according to experts.
In late 2021, southern Madagascar was hit by a severe drought that left more than one million people with acute malnutrition, with hunger pockets.
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