United Nations Nations Unies

Office of the Resident Coordinator

Madagascar • Cyclone and floods

Situation Report #4– 26 February 2011

I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES

• Some localized floods remain in the south-east of Madagascar.

• Previous data provided by the BNGRC is still valid: 14 deaths, 64 wounded and 11 missing person
for the whole country. All displaced populations have returned home; except some hundreds people
in the district of Ambovombe.
• 20 basic health centres and 1 district hospital were damaged among which 2 are completely
destroyed); around 49 schools are damaged mostly in the north-eastern region.
• The aerial assessment conducted in the south-eastern region reported less damage than expected,
but the districts of Vohipeno, Farafangàna and Vangaindrano are the most affected. Damage to the
agricultural sector is considered important in those three districts.
• The BNGRC, NGOs and UN agencies are distributing pre-positioned food and Non Food Items to the
more sectoral assessments (Health, Food Security, Education and Wash) are on-going to improve
cluster sectoral response.

II. Situation Overview

On 19 February, Bingiza left Madagascar. Floods are receding and the

situation is slowly going back to normal. More assessments are on-going to
improve the current response. Some districts remain inaccessible
(Mandritsara, Vondrozo and Midongy sud).

III. Humanitarian Needs and Response

EDUCATION

Needs: The Regional National Education Directorate (DREN) reported:

- In the North-east area: 40 schools damaged (170 classrooms) in Analanjirofo region. In addition, 3
classrooms are completely destroyed in the district of Soanierana Ivongo.
- In Sofia region (North): 9 schools damaged (13 classrooms) and 650 students have no access to
school.
- In South-east region: damages are very limited.

Response: Education assessment in going on, mainly in the north-eastern region. In addition to school
materials distributed by UNICEF last week (Sitrep No.3), the Malagasy Red Cross will distribute 2,000
scholar set: 500 in Mananara (north-east), 1,100 in Mandritsara (North), 200 in Befandriana (North) and 200
in Soalala (West).

Gaps & Constraints: N/A

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EMERGENCY SHELTER

Needs: According to the aerial assessment carried out in the South east region (21 and 22 February),
damage is very limited and much less than expected. All displaced populations are back to their homes,
except 310 displaced persons (56 children) in the village of Sarimonto (2,000 habitants), district of
Ambovombe (South of Madagascar). The evacuation will continue in this locality until Sunday 27 February.

Response: CARE International is distributing approximately 38 rolls of plastic sheeting in Mananara. An

additional 22 rolls will be sent to complement the needs. A total of 60 rolls of plastic sheeting will be
distributed to 600 households. Self-reconstruction is going on and will be monitored by CARE International
which will respond if more needs arise. The Malagasy Red Cross will distribute 2,000 family kits: 1,100 in
Mandritsara, 500 in Mananara Nord 200 in Befandriana (all in north and north-eastern region), and 200 in
Soalala (West region). UNICEF has provided a speedboat to support the evacuation in the village of
Sarimonto.

Gaps & Constraints: Assessing the needs of the displaced hosted by relatives may take some time.

EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND LOGISTICS

Needs: The rain damaged some bridges and roads, mainly in the north and north-eastern region. The
Ministry of Public Works is mapping the status of the roads (Annex 1). The national road between Mananara
nord and Befandriana has been seriously damaged in 27 sections but still accessible; the Ministry will repair
only 3 sections due to their limited capacity.

Response: The Logistics Cluster is meeting regularly. WFP supports the coordination of food and non-food-
items (NFIs) via the Transall plane. A total of 4.5 MT from different partners (FAO, CARE, and MEDAIR) and
government (8MT) are expected to be delivered during 3 days to the south-eastern regions.
.

Gaps & Constraints: Accessibility by road to some districts remains a challenge for the delivery of food and
NFIs.

FOOD SECURITY AND LIVELIHOODS

Needs: The north-eastern region (Mananara, Maroantsetra and Antalalaha districts) has recorded minor
damage which was mainly due to strong winds. Cash crops and pine trees which are used for food
consumption during the lean season were the most affected. Floods were reported in Mandritsara but little
information was collected up to this day. The IFD (Development Fund for Intervention) and “Secours
Islamique France” (SIF) are currently carrying out an assessment in the area.

In the south-east, the districts of Vohipeno, Farafangana and Vangaindrano are the most affected areas.
Those areas were already affected by the Tropical Storm Hubert in 2010. Major damage was primarily due
to flooding, whilst minor damage was caused by strong winds. Flooding affected field crops as the cyclone hit
just after transplantation period (concerns 85% of rice fields). Therefore, support operations should be
focusing on agricultural recovery. However, only few food stocks at household level were affected. Data
collection in the area is hindered due to difficult access.

Response: In the south-east, WFP will provide immediate relief to 21,600 individuals (130 MT of
commodities) through its partner CARE in Vangaindrano. Commodities are distributed in priority through
FFW activities and GFD (General Food Distribution) for beneficiaries who don’t have the capacities to carry
out FFW activities. Foo-for-Work (FFW) activities aim at preventing communities to use seeds for their own
consumption and infrastructure rehabilitation. WFP is providing HEB (High Energy Biscuits) in Vondrozo
district via CARITAS to 3,200 individuals (2.8 MT) and in Midongy sud via CARE (1 MT).

In addition, the Food Security cluster will carry out from 1 to 6March a joint evaluation in Vohipeno,
Farafnagana and Vangaindrano focusing on agricultural and food security aspects. The conclusions of the
evaluation will be shared on 9 March and are expected to provide a deeper agricultural and food security

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analysis of the affected zones. Seeds (mainly rice, maize, beans and vegetable seeds) and, to a certain
extent, small agricultural tools will be needed to enable affected families to relaunch agricultural activities as
soon as possible. The seasonal (Grande Saison) agricultural calendar ends on 15 March 2011. Quantities of
these inputs will be determined after the evaluation.

In the north-eastern zone, assistance is provided to 21,000 individuals (135 MT of commodities) in

Mananara, Antalaha and Marontsetra districts, through partners CARE and MEDAIR. Commodities will be
distributed via FFW activities and aim at reopening access to enable markets to function. 40 tons of rice is
being unloaded in Mananara. FFW activities are undertaking in the field.

In the South, BNGRC distributed 2,5MT of rice to the 310 displaced populations in the village of Sarimonto.

Gaps & Constraints: Access to some districts (Midongy sud, Vondrozo) is very difficult and therefore, does
not allow large quantities of commodities to be transported. Agricultural rehabilitation is challenging due to
the low availability of seeds and the tight timing as new rice seeds need to be planted by latest 15 March.

HEALTH

Needs: 20 basic health centres and 1 district hospital were damaged among which 2 are completely
destroyed (one in SAVA region and one in Analanjirofo region). As of today, no sign of outbreaks has been
reported in the affected regions. However, information from rural areas is still missing. Médecins du Monde
(MDM) reported less damage in the south-eastern region; both health services and Epidemic Survey System
are functional.

Response: Medicine stocks are sufficient in the affected areas to respond to the needs except in Mananara
district. Hence, medicine pre-positioned at regional level has been delivered to this district, including UN
stocks (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA). Health cluster will very soon conduct sectoral assessments in the Northern
region (Analanjirofo district) and in the south-eastern region (Vatovavy Fitovinany and Atsimo Atsinanana
regions) to complete missing data, assess the risk of epidemics, and support local teams with the response.

Gaps & Constraints: N/A

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

Needs: More than 23,000 people are affected by lack of access to safe water.

Response: The WASH Cluster met on 22 February to share the most recent information, plan and
coordinate response. UNICEF, in collaboration with NGOs, distributed 2,030 WASH Kits and conducted
hygiene promotion activities for 1,000 families in Mananara Nord, 1,000 families in Vangaindrano, 30 families
in Ambovombe and will distribute another 1,000 WASH kits to 1,000 families in Vohipeno. CRS distributed
600 WASH Kits to 600 families in Farafangana; the Malagasy Red Cross distributed 1,500 WASH kits and
conducted hygiene promotion activities for 1,500 families in Mandritsara (1,100), Befandriana (200) and
Soalala (200). MEDAIR will distribute 4,000 WASH kits to 4,000 families in rural areas in Vangaindrano.

UNICEF will carry out additional preventive activities including cleaning and disinfecting 40 wells for more
than 700 families in Vohipeno. Hygiene promotion activities will also be conducted to reduce risk of water-
and vector-borne diseases.

Gaps & Constraints: N/A

IV. Coordination

The National Humanitarian platform had its third coordination meeting on 23 February focusing on the
restitution of the south-west aerial survey on flooded areas and updating response activities of the BNGRC
and other implementing partners.

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 OCHA Situation Report

OCHA/RCO is supporting the clusters to identify areas which need more assessments and response.

V. Funding

All humanitarian partners including donors and recipient agencies

are encouraged to inform FTS of cash and in-kind contributions by 0 million -%
sending an e-mail to: fts@un.org. requested (US$) funded

VI. Contact

Please contact:

Mr. Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative and RC, a.i from 17 to 28 February.
bmaes@unicef.org. Tel + 261 331 13 99 36- +261 320 53 99 36

Pierre Gelas, Regional Humanitarian Affairs Officer,

gelas@un.org, +254 733 721 051

Rija Rakotoson, Humanitarian Affairs Officer,

rakotoson@un.org, +261 32 05 076 93

For more information, please visit www.reliefweb.int.

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 OCHA Situation Report

Annex 1. Responses to Bingiza and floods – Madagascar 25 February 2011

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