IRIN - Southern Africa
Madagascar: Floods
07 March 2001


MADAGASCAR: Aid and flood contingency plans in place

JOHANNESBURG, 7 March (IRIN) - The European Commission is to spend about
US $841,000 in Madagascar to provide humanitarian aid to vulnerable
communities, most of which were affected during the floods which hit the
country about one year ago.

The commission said in a statement on Tuesday that recent surveys of
children, centred on the districts of Mahonoro and Nosy-Varika, had
revealed serious nutritional deficiencies. "The humanitarian aid provided
by the European Commission targets almost 8,000 vulnerable families with a
particular emphasis on severely malnourished children. It includes the
provision of basic food rations, and some food for work activities," the
statement said. The money is to be channelled to the communities through
the commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).

UNDP resident representative in Madagascar, Adama Guindo, told IRIN on
Wednesday that UN agencies and the governments of France and Madagascar
had implemented contingency measures to ensure that a minimal number of
people would be affected in any new emergency during the current cyclone
season.

"After a joint workshop last year we have opened seven operation centres,
mainly along the east coast, where most of the cyclones come through. We
have UN national volunteers in each centre, which is equipped with a base
radio that is linked to a computer system. All volunteers are linked to
local administration offices and local communities. They have basically
two main functions - to liaise with local administrative officers and to
provide training on emergency situations and reaction; for example they
educate people on what to do before, during and after a cyclone," he said

Guindo added that the communications system was solar powered and would
work even if there was a power failure. The UNDP provided US $200,000 for
the programme and USAID had pledged another US $1 million to strengthen
the overall natural disaster management system, Guindo said. "This means
that for two years we are funded," Guindo added.

He also said that Madagascar had made much progress with its
reconstruction efforts after last year's disaster. About 60 percent of the
northeast town of Antala, which has about 1.4 million people (about 10
percent of the population), was damaged during cyclone Huddah last year.
Guindo told IRIN that life in the vanilla-growing town was now "almost
normal".

"Things have moved very quickly. This is the main vanilla growth area.
Last year production was exceptional. The cyclone itself lasted a few
hours and the crops were not damaged. Prices were high, people were
harvesting and this helped to rebuild the town," Guindo said.

He said that according to latest weather reports, the tropical depression
which was developing off the coast of Madagascar on Tuesday was headed
towards the Mozambique channel and would not strike Madagascar. He said
that 10 days of rain in January had caused some concern, but swift action
had averted any danger. There had also been three cyclone alerts, he said,
but none of them had struck land. "So far," he told IRIN, "the situation
is all right".


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