Madagascar: More than 85,000 people displaced by Cyclone Enawo

According to the latest information, the cyclone and subsequent flooding have affected 300,000 people, including 175,000 in Antalaha district, in the northeast of the country, where the cyclone made landfall. More than 85,000 people remain displaced from their homes. Fifty people have also been killed, 181 injured and 20 are missing.

Ninety-one per cent of casualties are from the regions of Sava, Analamanga, Analanjirofo and Atsinanana. According to the National Risk and Disaster Management Office, the regions of Sava and Analanjirofo, in the northeast of the country, suffered the worst damage.

Communication with the northeast of the country, a landlocked zone, difficult to access and hit hardest by the cyclone, has been severely disrupted. Late last week, the Madagascan authorities were still without news from 90 villages in Antalaha district.

A total of 222 accommodation sites have been set up in eight out of 14 affected regions.

“The flood alert was lifted in Antananarivo on Monday morning, explains Anne Burtin, the coordinator of Handicap International’s programmes in Madagascar.”

“We are now visiting temporary accommodation sites to assess the situation and the needs of people with disabilities. Some have lost their homes in the floods and will stay in the centres for several days. We are ready to supply them with mobility aids, such as crutches, wheelchairs and the like, and to provide cash-based aid if necessary, which they can use to buy what they need, such as items not distributed by other humanitarian organisations.”

Handicap International in Madagascar

Handicap International has been present in Madagascar since 1986. Its team of nearly 100 staff members works to eliminate disabling diseases such as lymphatic filariasis. It helps to improve the living conditions of detainees in prisons. Handicap International also runs a mother and child health programme to reduce mortality rates among mothers and infants. The organisation advances the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities by providing support to the organisations that represent them. Handicap International is also working to improve access to education for children excluded from the school system.