Aid urgent after Elita sows destruction

Madagascar has appealed for international assistance after tropical storm Elita killed 29 people and left thousands homeless. According to the presidential spokesman, Didier Rakotoarisoa, close to 100 people were injured after "Elita" returned to the Indian Ocean island for the second time two weeks ago. "The situation is critical - we have recorded 29 deaths, three people are missing and about 44,000 people are without shelter. There was also significant damage to about 500 public buildings, and about 12,000 homes in [the northwestern province of] Mahajanga were destroyed. We have still to assess the impact of the rains on roads and telecommunications," Rakotoarisoa said. The impact of the torrential downpour on crop production in certain parts of the province was causing concern. "We were already experiencing agricultural problems there, and this has just made it worse for those people who were struggling to secure food. In the south Midongy district [of Mahajanga,] almost 80 percent of rice fields were covered by floods," he told IRIN. Elita first hit Madagascar on 28 January, causing severe damage in the western and southeastern parts of the country. The cyclone returned on 3 February, accompanied by winds averaging 200 km/h. Preliminary official reports last week said four people were killed and 13,000 had lost their homes, while schools and health facilities in the area were also damaged. Authorities had appealed to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for US $80,000 to establish operational field bases for a period of three months. "The most urgent action needed is the rehabilitation of schools, to allow the school children to resume their school attendance. Also, the provision of food in isolated localities and rehabilitation of public buildings is important," UN Resident Representative Bouri Sanhouidi said. Some of the other urgent needs are temporary shelter, medicines, water purification tablets, food and building materials. The World Food Programme (WFP) has said it will make some food available, although it is already battling with insufficient funds for its current operations that are addressing drought-affected communities in the south. "We do have stocks in Tamatave (east) and in Mahajanga, which can be released immediately, but this means that the emergency operation [EMOP] in the south will be affected. It would be necessary for donors to come forward soon with additional aid, so that we don't experience a pipeline break in our EMOP in the future," WFP Country Representative Bodo Henze told IRIN. Madagascar is prone to cyclones between December and March. In May last year, tropical cyclone Manou battered the country's east coast, leaving 70 people dead and about 115,000 in need of aid.