The National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) in Madagascar reported on 17 February 2021 that 1 person has died around 1,400 people have been affected by recent heavy rainfall, floods and landslides across the regions of Alaotra-Mangoro, Analamanga, Melaky and Menabe. Over 200 homes have been damaged.
One person died in the capital Antananarivo, Analamanga Region, after a house collapsed on 15 February. Around 100 homes were flooded or damaged across the capital, affecting 788 people. One person was injured when a house collapsed in the Manjakamiadana neighbourhood.
Around 100 homes were flooded in Amparafaravola district of Alaotra-Mangoro, affecting 514 people. Ten houses suffered severe damage after floods in Maintirano district, Melaky Region, affecting 50 people, while 3 houses were severely damaged in Morondava district of Menabe Region, affecting around 7 people.
BNGRC said the heavy rainfall was a consequence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).
Some areas of the country are still recovering from flooding and wind damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Eloise in January. Currently Tropical Cyclone Guambe is moving south over the Mozambique Channel. Hazardous conditions including heavy rainfall and strong winds have been forecast for Mozambique and eSwatini but not for Madagascar.
Meanwhile severe drought conditions continue to threaten parts of southern Madagascar. A report in January 2021 (pdf) by the EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) said:
“A pronounced rainfall deficit that accumulated throughout 2020, due to scarce precipitation during the first half of 2020 and the beginning of the 2020/2021 rainy season, is exacerbating the exposure to food insecurity of rural communities of southern Madagascar, hampering crop growth, and threatening the water supply for much of 2021.”
