Threat to lives and livelihoods as cyclone Batsirai hurls towards Madagascar

“Frequent cyclones during the agricultural season mean loss of harvest, high
food prices and increased food insecurity,” said WFP Deputy Regional Director
Margaret Malu. “The people of Southern Africa have been on the front lines of
climate extremes for many years now and each passing storm sets them back,
resetting the progress made.”

Two weeks after Storm Ana ploughed through Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi,
causing heavy flooding, destruction to homes and public infrastructure and
displacing communities, WFP is preparing for the impending arrival of Cyclone
Batsirai, expected to hit the east coast of Madagascar over the weekend.

“WFP is on the ground, and we are ready to provide logistics support to
governments and NGO partners to aid relief efforts and drones and boats in
case of flooding. We have also prepositioned food to be able to quickly
provide emergency food assistance.”

In response to Storm Ana, WFP, working closely with governments, has provided
logistics support to search and rescue efforts, conducted needs assessments
and organized food distributions. WFP continues its lean season food
distributions, livelihood programmes and school feeding activities, where
possible.

Cyclone Batsirai has the potential to derail relief efforts underway in the
aftermath of Storm Ana that hit not only Madagascar but also Mozambique and
Malawi, where the impact of Cyclone Idai in 2019 is still fresh in the minds
of vulnerable communities who are struggling to build back their lives.

Extreme weather events like cyclones have become more frequent and intense in
Southern Africa driving hunger and eroding development, sometimes in a matter
of hours. The ongoing cyclone season (October 2021 to May 2022) is expected to
see eight to twelve tropical systems.

WFP’s resilience programmes such as building dams and irrigation systems,
drought resilient farming methods and rehabilitating forests support food
security in the long term and help communities cope with future shocks better.

with information from www.wfp.org