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MADAGASCAR-WEATHER-FLOOD
Heavy rain kills dozens in Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO, Jan 24, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – At least 21 people have died in
Madagascar following almost a week of torrential rain in the north-west of
the island, the government said on Friday.
The tropical Indian Ocean nation is in the midst of an intense six-month
rainy season that often leads to casualties and widespread damage.
Flooding in the districts of Mitsinjo and Maevatanana has claimed at least
21 lives since Sunday, and 20 more people are still missing and thousands
displaced, the National Bureau of Disaster Risk Management (BNGRC) announced
on Friday.
Strips of road were swept away by the rains and access to affected areas
has been cut off.
The BNGRC warned that flooding in lowland and rice-growing areas posed a
risk of “food insecurity and malnutrition”.
A disruption in the supply of basic goods could also lead to surge in
prices, it added.
Opposition lawmaker Hanitriniaina Razafimanantsoa called on President Andry
Rajoelina to declare a “natural disaster”.
The rainy season usually stretches from October to April in Madagascar, a
former French colony off Africa’s southeastern coast.
Nine people were killed in January 2019 after heavy rains caused the
collapse of a building in the capital Antananarivo.
During this period, the country is also often hit by cyclones and other
tropical storms.
Cyclone Belna landed in the northwest last month, killing at least two
people and displacing hundreds.
BSS/AFP/SSS/2007 hrs