Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

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MADAGASCAR: Cyclone expected in high population areas

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Photo: earthsky.org​

Cyclone Giovanna pushing towards the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar​

JOHANNESBURG, 13 February 2012 (IRIN) - A category four tropical storm, Cyclone Giovanna, is expected to make landfall on 14 February close to the Madagascan east coast town of Toamasina and thereafter head for the capital Antananarivo.

?This is a particularly strong one [cyclone] and we have not seen one like this for some years? If Giovanna lives up to the category four predictions and hits south of the large coastal port of Toamasina, as predicted, it has the potential to cause massive destruction. Not since Cyclone Indlala in 2007 or perhaps even farther back in time have we had a cyclone with this capacity for large-scale damage. We are calling on all parties to take this storm extremely seriously,? John Uniack Davis, country director for CARE, told IRIN.

Giovanna is being compared by the Malagasy Meteorological Service to the 1994 Cyclone Geralda, because it was expected to follow a similar trajectory through densely populated areas. Geralda killed about 200 people, displaced 40,000 and affected another 500,000.

A briefing note by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Giovanna was expected to bring ?heavy rain and winds of between 211 and 250km/h. It is forecast to then cross the island and pass by the capital Antananarivo as a category three tropical cyclone and then enter the Mozambique Channel as a category one tropical cyclone by Wednesday 15 February?

?The initial area of impact is expected to be between the northeast district of Fenerive Est and the southeast district of Vohipeno. Giovanna currently has a diameter of 400km, which can increase to 500km as it approaches the coast. The two regions likely to be most affected are Antsinanana and Analanjirofo,? the OCHA briefing note said.

The briefing said the cyclone could ?isolate? Toamasina, as well as the areas of Brickaville, Mahanoro, Vatomandry and Fenerive Est, and communications systems ?may be disrupted in the two regions most at risk, which are Atsinanana and Analanjirofo?.

An aid worker based in Antananarivo, who declined to be identified, told IRIN that even those citizens in the capital who were usually ?well-informed? of events were unaware of the tropical storm?s imminent arrival.

The cyclone is expected to arrive on the first anniversary of Cyclone Bingiza which killed at least 14 people, destroyed nearly 6,000 homes and displaced 19,000.

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=94853

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

<TABLE class=full cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=full>Category 4 Giovanna battering Madagascar


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By Dr. Jeff Masters

Published: 2:45 PM GMT on February 13, 2012
Earth's most dangerous storm of 2012 is Tropical Cyclone Giovanna, which is bearing down on Madagascar as a powerful Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds. Giovanna is predicted to hit a heavily populated portion of the east coast of the island near 22 GMT tonight as a Category 3 storm, then move inland, passing near the capital of Antananarivo as a Category 1 storm on Tuesday morning. The outer spiral bands of the storm have already moved over the island, bringing heavy rains and gusty winds.

Figure 1. Visible image from NASA's Terra satellite of Tropical Cyclone Giovanna approaching Madagascar, taken at 6:35 UTC Monday February 13, 2012. At the time, Giovanna was a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds. Image credit: NASA.

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http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html?entrynum=2033

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

Madagascar - Tropical Cyclone Giovanna remains a potentially catastrophic storm as landfall is only hours away

By Swinden | Posted 13 minutes ago | Toamasina, Madagascar


Toamasina , Madagascar - Over the last 12 hours, Giovanna has remained an intense Category 4 Tropical Cyclone and should make landfall in approximately 8 to 10 hours over the central eastern coast of Madagascar between Toamasina and Vatomandry with potentially catastrophic damage. Tropical storm force conditions are currently battering eastern Madagascar.
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The capital city of Antananarivo, with a population of well over 1 million, should be in the storm?s path and while Giovanna will weaken while tracking over Madagascar, Antananarivo could possibly experience destructive winds of greater than 100 mph.
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Expect widespread major coastal flooding due to the storm surge, widespread inland flooding due to torrential rains and heavy damage to the infrastructure that will take weeks, if not months to repair. Travel in the region will be heavily affected for land and air, especially if the storm damages Antananarivo airport. Anticipate the eastern coastal areas of Madagascar to be cut off from Antananarivo.

Full text:
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-747747

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

Madagascar hit by Cyclone Giovanna

A tropical cyclone has hit the island of Madagascar, with winds of up to 194km (120mph) ripping up trees and electricity pylons.

At least two people have been killed by Cyclone Giovanna, and there are reports of up to five deaths.

Head of the charity Care told the BBC that 60% of homes in one eastern town had either been damaged or destroyed.

Meteorologists warn the damage may be as bad as in 1994, when a cyclone killed 200 people and displaced 40,000.

Cyclone Giovanna made landfall overnight near the eastern port city of Toamasina, also known locally as Tamatave, 200km (about 125 miles) from the capital, Antananarivo.

Power cut

Antananarivo-based journalist Tim Healy told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the capital city experienced very high winds and heavy rainfall for most of the day.

Emergency service vehicles have been out in Antananarivo on Tuesday clearing up the debris.

People are staying at home as offices, schools and businesses have been shut and the power has been cut in many areas.

He says he has been unable to ask residents along the eastern coast about the extent of the damage because telephone lines have been brought down by the cyclone.

He warns it could be serious - given that many coastal villagers live in simple houses built of wood and leaves.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17025328

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

Madagascar: UNICEF gears up to help victims of deadly cyclone

14 February 2012 ?

The United Nations Children?s Fund (UNICEF) said today that it has pre-positioned enough emergency supplies to assist 100,000 people in Madagascar, where a tropical cyclone has made landfall, bringing torrential rains and intense winds.

At least two people have been confirmed killed since Cyclone Giovanna struck Madagascar?s eastern coast, just south of the port of Toamasina, about 1 a.m. today, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.

The cyclone ? which included winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour ? is weakening as it crosses the country but has already caused significant damage to public infrastructure on the east coast, said Dominic Stolarow, UNICEF?s emergency coordinator in Madagascar. Several parts of Antananarivo, the capital, are also without water, electricity or telephone services.

?What needs to be done now is a proper assessment so we can understand the exact dimensions of this natural disaster,? Mr. Stolarow said. ?It will help us to design an adequate response.?

Two rapid assessment teams from UNICEF are on standby in Antananarivo to be deployed to the field once conditions allow.

Marixie Mercado, a spokesperson for UNICEF, told journalists in Geneva that the agency had pre-positioned assistance for 100,000 people, with UNICEF staff also in place along the route the cyclone was taking.

The emergency supplies include mosquito nets, water purification devices and school kits.

Ms. Mercado warned that the country already faced high malnutrition rates, particularly children, and relatively low levels of access to fresh water and decent sanitation.

Madagascar is frequently faced with cyclones and tropical storms in the early months of the year. Giovanna?s arrival is exactly a year to the day since Madagascar was struck by Cyclone Bingiza, which killed 14 people and destroyed almost 6,000 homes.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41234&Cr=madagascar&Cr1=

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

NASA Sees Deadly Cyclone Giovanna Over the Center of Madagascar

Cyclone Giovanna made landfall in eastern Madagascar very early on February 14 and continues tracking in a southwestern direction toward the Mozambique Channel. NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image when Giovanna's center was close to the capital city of Antananarivo, and NASA's TRMM satellite saw powerful towering thunderstorms around its center before it made landfall.

According to BBC News, Giovanna made landfall near the eastern port city of Toamasina with winds gusting to 120 mph (194km). Giovanna brought heavy rain, and its strong winds flattened trees. Storm surges continue to pound coastal areas as Giovanna tracks over the fourth-largest island in the world. Rainfall totals are expected between 10 and 20 inches (250 to 500 mm), and may trigger landslides in higher elevations.

On February 14, 2012 at 07:15 UTC (10:15 a.m. local time - Madagascar/3:15 a.m. EST), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Terra Satellite captured a visible image of Cyclone Giovanna almost directly in the center of the island of Madagascar. Giovanna had weakened as a result of its interaction with land, and its eye had "closed."

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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2012/h2012_Giovanna.html

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

UNICEF set to distribute aid to Madagascar?s cyclone victims

15 February 2012 ?

The United Nations Children?s Fund (UNICEF) will start distributing medicines and mosquito nets tomorrow to the parts of eastern Madagascar hardest hit by Cyclone Giovanna, which has killed at least 16 people and left a trail of destruction.

The death toll from the cyclone, which struck the coast early yesterday and has since crossed the island country, is expected to climb further, according to Dominic Stolarow, UNICEF?s emergency coordinator in Madagascar.

Aerial assessments are under way with on-the-ground checks to follow as many areas remain cut off because of flood waters and the damage caused by the cyclonic winds, which topped 180 kilometres per hour in some areas.<BLOCKQUOTEALT>Numerous hospitals, health-care centres and schools have been flattened or badly damaged by the cyclone, as well as countless homes.</BLOCKQUOTEALT>

Numerous hospitals, health-care centres and schools have been flattened or badly damaged by the cyclone, as well as countless homes. In one town alone, an estimated 3,000 houses were destroyed.

Electricity and water supplies have been cut in many areas, although those services have now been largely restored to the neighbourhoods of the capital, Antananarivo, that had been worst hit by Giovanna.

Mr. Stolarow told the UN News Centre today that providing clean water and decent sanitation, re-establishing health care, building temporary classrooms and ensuring there is enough food for families in need are the top priorities for UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies.

He said the agency would tomorrow help to distribute about 10,000 mosquito nets as well as large stocks of emergency medicines, working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local authorities.

Madagascar is frequently beset by cyclones and tropical storms in the early months of the year. Giovanna hit the country exactly a year to the day since Madagascar was struck by Cyclone Bingiza, which killed 14 people and destroyed almost 6,000 homes.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41252&Cr=madagascar&Cr1=

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/imagery/single.cgi?image=Giovanna.A2012046.1045.2km.jpg


...An estimated 600,000 people lived in areas that received hurricane-force winds, but the eyewall of the storm missed the capital of Antananarivo, which received peak winds of 38 mph, gusting to 55 mph.

Many remote areas that were affected by the storm have not been heard from yet, so the full extent of Giovanna's damage is not yet known.

Giovanna is currently in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and Mozambique as a tropical storm with 50 mph winds, and is slowly intensifying. Latest computer model forecasts from the GFS and ECMWF models conflict, with the ECMWF model predicting the storm will swing around and pass very close to the southern tip of Madagascar next week, and the GFS model predicting landfall in Mozambique this weekend.

Meanwhile, Madagascar must also keep an eye on Tropical Cyclone Thirteen, which is gathering strength over the waters to the east of the island, and is on a course that will bring it close to Madagascar next week.

Full text:
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

MADAGASCAR: Cyclone kills at least 10 people

...The cyclone?s intensity had decreased by the time it reached Antananarivo, but winds of about 180km/h whipped through the capital, interrupting electricity and water supplies and tearing down billboards. Several houses collapsed, although there were no reports of casualties. Cyclone warning broadcasts by Malagasy state radio were interrupted for extended periods.

?The [helicopter] team informs us that Brickaville, the district capital closest to the point of landfall of Giovanna, was seriously hit - 70 percent of dwellings were destroyed or damaged to the point of being uninhabitable. Care staff on the ground also report 60 percent of structures damaged or destroyed in the district capital of Vatomandry, 60 kilometres further south,? Care International country director John Uniack Davis told IRIN.

The combined population of Brickaville and Vatomandry districts is about 400,000.

?The populations will definitely require government and international assistance to get back on their feet and we will have a better sense of this in coming days,? Uniack Davis said. ?Our initial impressions are that Cyclone Giovanna damage doesn?t cover a vast area, but some areas are quite hard hit, especially the districts of Brickaville and Vatomandry.?

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a 14 February situation report that the cyclone?s impact was expected to be ?severe? along the eastern coast, but communications in Brickaville and Vatomandry, and ?with other districts in the same area, have been cut off.?

?The distribution of food and relief supplies will commence as soon as Giovanna has passed, depending of the nature and the intensity of damage and accessibility of the affected areas,? OCHA said.

Regional impact

A briefing note by the regional economic bloc - the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Climate Services Centre; Tropical cyclone Giovanna and the expected rainfall situation across SADC from 15 February to 1 March 2012 - noted that ?Current track and intensity forecasts have briefly strengthening Giovanna over the [Mozambique] Channel before [a] weakening again and making a second landfall across southern Mozambique on the 18 February.

?In particular, there should be more persistent rains across the parts of the north and central areas of contiguous SADC and Madagascar for the next several days. This should quite likely exacerbate the problems of localized flooding that have affected portions of Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe,? the briefing said.

About 40 people died and more than 100,000 were affected when twin storms hit Mozambique between 18 and 26 January.

Tropical Cyclone Funso struck northern Mozambique, affecting about 65,000 people, causing floods and damage to houses, schools and health centres, while in southern Mozambique heavy rainstorms from tropical storm Dando affected about 52,000 people.

go/he
Full text:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=94875

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

Very intense tropical cyclone Giovanna is forecast to strike Madagascar as a tropical storm at about 06:00 GMT on 18 February.

17 Feb 2012 15:10
Source: Content partner // Tropical Storm Risk

Very intense tropical cyclone Giovanna is forecast to strike Madagascar as a tropical storm at about 06:00 GMT on 18 February.Data supplied by theUS Navy and Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Centersuggest that the point of landfallwill benear25.8 S,44.0 E.Giovanna is expected to bring 1-minute maximum sustained winds to the region of around101 km/h (63 mph).Wind gusts in the area maybeconsiderably higher.
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http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/...pical-storm-at-about-0600-gmt-on-18-february/

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

Red alert for Tropical Cyclone GIOVANNA-12 for Madagascar



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Click for an interactive map​

Legend: areas affected by winds of 39mph (green), 58mph (orange) and 74mph (red); shaded area is uncertainty cone of forecasted cyclone path.

Legend: areas affected by winds of 39mph (green), 58mph (orange) and 74mph (red); blue area is heavy rainfall >100mm/6hr (source: eTRaP)

Legend: areas affected by potential rainfall accumulation > 50mm/24hr (NASA TRMM real-time rainfall product). Rainfall > 90mm/24h are in red (source: NASA TRMM)​

Alert level: red for Madagascar

This tropical cyclone can have a high humanitarian impact based on the storm strength and the affected population in the past and forecasted path.
In particular Madagascar are affected by high winds up to 231km/h (64 m/s or 143mph).
<!--Caution: this information is based on risk models. Whether international humanitarian aid is needed must be decided by anexpert.
-->Current storm status

<!--Analysis based on advisory number 17 for GIOVANNA-12, published on 2/17/2012
-->Analysis based on advisory number 17 for GIOVANNA-12, published on 2/17/2012 00:00 UTC

• <!--
• Current alert level: green (alert messages sent on 2/17/2012 4:33:35 AM)-->
• The storm is: active
• Current country: Not near land
• Current position: 42.6, -25.5
• Alert level at current position: green
• Basin: SWIndian
• Current strength: Tropical Storm
• Current maximum sustained wind speed: 25 m/s, 50 kt

GDACS report created on 2/17/2012 2:33:34 PM.


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http://old.gdacs.org/reports.asp?ev...vel=Red&glide_no=&location=&country=&new=true

 

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Re: Madagascar: Cyclone Giovanna expected in high population areas

MADAGASCAR: Cyclone Giovanna struck with little warning

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Photo: Annelie Rozeboom/IRIN​

Cyclone Giovanna damaged 70 percent of homes in Brickaville, on the east coast of Madagascar​

BRICKAVILLE, 20 February 2012 (IRIN) - In a cyclone-prone country like Madagascar, which feels the force of about 60 percent of the storms that form over the Indian Ocean every year, being prepared for disaster makes all the difference.

The Malagasy National Disaster Office organizes annual simulation exercises in vulnerable areas to test the preparedness of local authorities and communities. However, in Brickaville, on the east coast of Madagascar, power lines had been down for two weeks - a regular occurrence in the island's outlying provinces - and news that the town lay directly in the path of Cyclone Giovanna, a category-four tropical storm, could not reach the people in time.

The cyclone destroyed and damaged thousands of homes and killed at least 23 people, but this number is expected to rise as more remote locations are reached.

"By the time the ?chef de Fokotany? [administrator of the district] came to warn us about the cyclone, it was already here. All we could do was run to the church for cover," Jean Noel, 48, a mother of six who lives in Brickaville, told IRIN. Nearly a week after Giovanna struck on 14 February, she and her neighbours are trying to rebuild their houses, which were among the 70 percent damaged by the storm.

The water pump was damaged and people have resorted to drinking water from an untreated well. Food is also in short supply. "We need rice, oil and soap," one resident said. "On the other side of town, aid workers have given out supplies, but we didn't get any yet."

Emma Zafiarisoa, of the local NGO, St Gabriel, told IRIN: "The [aid] supplies come in waves. We managed to get drinking water to the first 2,000 flood victims, but it's not enough. We have materials for 5,000 people, but after our evaluation there might be as many as 50,000 victims who need supplies."

The NGO installs water purification plants, and households can also subscribe to clean drinking water for 500 Ariary (US$0.20) per 20 litre. "Through our subscription system we already know the households, and so it was easy for us to identify who needs water the most. When the cyclone hit we worked with the chef de Fokotany to make sure those households with the biggest need will be helped first. We will stay here for a month. After this, the people will have to find their own way. "

Colin Radford, of the NGO, Help, arrived in Brickaville the day after the cyclone struck and was in front of the town hall distributing rice, oil, beans and high-nutrient biscuits, donated by the UN World Food Programme (WFP). "We thought we needed food rations for 4,000 people, but by now we have discovered that it is much closer to 6,000, so we have new rations coming in," he told IRIN.

Rations

"Today we're handing out rations to the people who live on the outskirts [of Brickaville]. Yesterday it was to the townspeople," he said. "We had to close down the whole operation two times this morning, as people became angry easily. Some were trying to get more than one ration, while some local officials here tried to get all their friends and relatives on the list. But we have zero tolerance for corruption, so with help from the people we soon figured out who needed food the most."

On the other side of the square, Jean, 65, who only gave his first name, stands with an empty basket and ID card, waiting for assistance. He told IRIN that Giovanna was much worse than Geralda, the 1994 cyclone, which all but destroyed the town. "My house is completely broken and I'll need to raise about 100,000 Ariary (US$50) to rebuild it," he said.

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The day of the cyclone it was very hot and sunny, so we didn't think there would be a storm

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>In Vatomandry, another severely affected town, Bernadine Ravaonasolo, 67, told IRIN: "My husband is a fisherman, but our pirogue [dugout canoe] and supplies all washed away. He's now rebuilding the house, and after that we'll try to get by doing odd jobs."

In neighbouring Manambato, villagers did not believe reports about an impending cyclone, even after the village leader received a cellphone text message. "The day of the cyclone it was very hot and sunny, so we didn't think there would be a storm," said Florette Rabearivelo, 25. When the wind started blowing she and her neighbours sheltered in the main building of the hotel where she works. "When we came out in the morning, everything was destroyed."

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=94911