Cyclone Dumako to Hit Madagascar on February 15

 Just 10 days after being hit by Cyclone Batsirai, which killed at least 121 people, Madagascar is now bracing for yet another tropical storm, a UN spokesman said.

Tropical cyclone Dumako is on track to hit the country's northeastern parts on Tuesday, February 15, said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"Health teams have been deployed to affected areas where they are working in collaboration with the government to scale up the response," Dujarric added. "Food partners are providing both cash assistance and in-kind food assistance."

When food markets are not working, there is not enough local food available, or victims cannot access markets, in-kind food assistance frequently is distributed.

This storm arrives at the back of Cyclone Batsirai hitting Madagascar's southeast on the February 5 weekend. It displaced 29,000 people, while destroying, damaging and flooding almost 19,000 homes, reports Xinhua news agency.

The spokesman said the World Food Programme has distributed unconditional cash transfers to help impacted families for the next three months, while the UNICEF's health partners have also supported the resumption of health services and rehabilitated cyclone-damaged medical facilities.

"Our friends at UNICEF have provided medicine for the treatment of nearly 50,000 cases of Malaria and are also supporting the repair of cold chains for vaccines and essential medicine," Dujarric added.

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