Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Alert - Madagascar 1/2002
Tropical Cyclone Kesiny
Geneva, May 15, 2002


On May 9 at 6:00 p.m. Cyclone Kesiny hit Madagascar and passed through the
north of the country. On May 13, the Cyclone disintegrated in the
Mozambique Channel after cutting across the province of Mahajanga and the
north of the province of Antananarivo. The cyclone brought a mass of
clouds that covered Madagascar entirely for six days. The heavy rains
caused flooding in the northern, western and eastern regions of the
country.

It is estimated that between 50 - 75% of the crops were destroyed. Crops
(rice, beans and maize) are traditionally harvested between May and the
middle of June.

The National Relief Council of Magadascar has reported that 20 persons
died, that 180 are missing and that 1,200 people were injured. About
520,000 persons are thought to have been affected, 5,000 were left
homeless and 15,000 are in need for immediate assistance (food, shelter
and drinking water).

The ACT member in Magadascar, Church of Jesus Christ (FJKM) reports that12
regional teams of SAF/ FJKM are performing an assessment in the affected
region. They have already started to provide support to the affected
population with the rice stocks that they had available. An appeal will be
forthcoming.


Thank you for your attention.

For further information please contact:

ACT Director, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6032 or mobile phone
++ 41 79 203 6055)
or
ACT Appeals Officer, John Nduna (phone ++41 22 791 6040 or mobile phone
++41 79 433 0592)


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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


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